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Wearable technology like Apple’s new smartwatch has gotten plenty of attention lately, as have startups that are customizing Google Glass for specific workplace uses from oil rigs to operating rooms and factories in China. But if you work in an ordinary office, can Glass make your life easier? More to the point, at about twice the price of the average smartphone, can Glass do anything a smartphone can’t?
最近，可穿戴技术吸引了众多眼球，例如苹果（Apple）最新推出的智能手表，与此同时，一些初创公司也引起了人们的注意，他们将谷歌眼镜（Google Glass）进行自定义，用于特定的工作场所，比如油井、手术室，在中国，它还被应用在工厂里。但如果你是一家普通公司的员工，谷歌眼镜能否让你的生活变得更容易？更确切地说，售价是普通智能手机两倍的谷歌眼镜是否能做一些智能手机目前还无法完成的事情？
Ray Nicholus, lead developer and product manager at software firm Widen Enterprises in Madison, Wisc., decided to find out. A couple of months ago, he started wearing the glasses to the office every day. The main advantage he’s found: Having a computer screen in front of your right eye leaves your hands free. “You can shoot photos and videos, and get email notifications and all kind of other information, without having to pick up a device,” he says.
雷o尼古拉斯是美国威斯康辛州麦迪逊软件公司Widen Enterprises的开发总监兼产品经理，他决定一探究竟。几个月前，他开始每天佩戴谷歌眼镜上班。他发现谷歌眼镜的主要优势在于：右眼前方有一个屏幕可以解放你的双手。他说：“你不需要拿起一台设备，便可以拍摄照片和视频，收取电子邮件提醒和各种其他信息。”
So far, Nicholus sees several other ways Glass makes everyday office life easier. First, because it integrates with Gmail, Google calendar, and an Android smartphone, “you can glance at incoming emails, phone calls, and calendar reminders all in one place without switching context,” he says. Glass is also useful for meetings. An app called Refresh can do background research on everyone who’s expected in a gathering, or at a job interview, and put the data on the screen “so you can ask the right questions.”
到目前为止，尼古拉斯已经体会到了谷歌眼镜能够给办公室生活带来便利的其他方面。首先，因为这款眼镜集成了Gmail、谷歌日历和一部安卓智能手机，“你在一个地方便可以浏览来信、来电和日历提醒，不需要切换背景。”此外，谷歌眼镜在开会时也很有用处。一款名为Refresh的应用可以对预计会出席会议的人进行背景调查（或者在面试的时候使用），然后将数据显示到屏幕上，这样“你就可以提出恰当的问题。”
Nicholus especially likes YourShow, a Glass app that makes notes for a speech or presentation available in front of the speaker’s eyes. “You can see a preview of your slides without losing focus on your audience, and even advance slides just by tapping your glasses,” he says. The only drawback is that, although the speaker is less distracted, the audience sometimes isn’t. “They do notice you’re wearing Glass, and it can be the only thing they focus on.”
尼古拉斯尤其喜欢一款名为Yourshow的谷歌眼镜应用，该应用可以在演讲者的眼前显示演讲稿或演示稿的提示。他说道：“你可以用谷歌眼镜查看幻灯片的预览，避免让自己看起来不关注听众，甚至按一下眼镜就可以切换到下一张幻灯片。”唯一的缺点在于，虽然演讲者更少分心，但有时候听众却会分散注意力。“他们会注意到你佩戴了谷歌眼镜，而这将成为他们唯一关注的东西。”
With so many employees now working in places far from the home office, an app called LiveStream could come in handy for making them feel more connected. “Someone wearing Glass in a meeting or other group event, using LiveStream, serves as an ultra-portable camera,” Nicholus says. “It’s an easy way to give remote employees a better sense of being in the same room.”
现在有许多员工在远离总部的地方工作，一款名叫LiveStream的应用可以让他们感觉与公司的联系更紧密。尼古拉斯说道：“戴着谷歌眼镜参加会议或其他团体活动时，如果使用LiveStream，就像把自己变身为一台超级便携摄像机。”这会让远程办公的员工更容易体会到身临其境的感觉。
LiveStream might be a valuable recruiting tool, too. “Ask an employee to wear Glass and record typical or interesting moments throughout the day,” he suggests. “This can be edited down to a short ‘day in the life’ video you could use to market your company and its culture to job candidates.”
此外，LiveStream还是一款非常有价值的招聘工具。他建议：“要求一名员工佩戴谷歌眼镜，录制当天见到的典型或有趣的瞬间。然后将这些瞬间剪辑成一段短视频——‘生命中的一天’，藉此向求职者推销自己的公司和文化。”
Some of the 55 apps and integrations available from Google’s Glassware store sound almost as futuristic as the glasses look. Word Lens, for instance, could be a huge help to managers sent on overseas assignments who haven’t yet picked up much of the local language. It uses the Glass camera to translate printed words, and then overlays the translated text on top of the original.
谷歌Glassware商店中有55款应用和集成功能，这些应用听起来与眼镜本身一样未来感十足。例如，对于被派往海外但尚未熟练掌握本地语言的管理者来说，Word Lens能提供极大帮助。该应用利用谷歌眼镜的摄像头翻译打印的文字，之后将翻译后的文本覆盖到原始文本上。
So how come we’re not all sporting these specs? For one thing, the current base price of $1,500 plus tax is a bit steep for most consumers. “Google will have to get it closer to the price of a smartphone before most people will really look at buying it,” says Nicholus. Then there are technical difficulties, like Glass’s short battery life—“four to six hours at best, and much shorter if you’re filming”—and glitches like frequent WiFi disconnections. “It’s definitely still in beta,” Nicholus notes.
可为什么谷歌眼镜并未达到人手一部的规模？首先，谷歌眼镜目前的基本价格是1,500美元，加上税费，会令大多数消费者望而却步。尼古拉斯说道：“谷歌必须将谷歌眼镜的价格降到智能手机的水平，才能让大多数人考虑购买它。”其次是技术难题，例如谷歌眼镜过短的电池续航时间——“充其量只能延续4至6个小时，如果录像，续航时间会更短”——还有WiFi频繁掉线的问题。尼古拉斯说道：“很显然，这款产品仍属测试版。”
Not only that, but “Google is going to have to make Glass look more like ordinary glasses,” he adds. “Right now, it’s very noticeable, unlike even a smartwatch, and it does make people around you uncomfortable.” Not to mention how you look to yourself in the mirror. One recent reviewer on Amazon noted that his pair makes him look “dorky beyond anything I could have imagined.”
不仅如此，他补充道：“谷歌应该让谷歌眼镜看起来更像普通眼镜。现在的谷歌眼镜外形太过显著，甚至没有智能手表低调，这会让你周围的人不舒服。”更不用说在镜子里看自己时的尴尬。最近，一位用户在亚马逊上评论说，他的谷歌眼镜让自己看起来“傻到家了。”
Even so, Nicholus sees so much potential in Glass that he’s hoping Google GOOG -2.36% —which has so far been tight-lipped about its plans—will continue to add even more capabilities and work out the remaining bugs. “They seem to be focused on enterprise uses right now,” he notes. “But if they aren’t planning to keep adapting it for general use too, that would really be a shame.”
尽管如此，尼古拉斯还是认为谷歌眼镜有巨大的潜力，他希望谷歌能继续增加更多性能，解决其他问题。到目前为止，谷歌对谷歌眼镜的未来计划一直三缄其口。他说道：“现在，谷歌似乎专注于企业级应用。如果他们不打算继续针对普通应用对谷歌眼镜进行完善，那就太令人遗憾了。”（财富中文网）
