An always-interesting talking point about Google Glass has been its web browser. Unlike many topics within the Glass community, the browser tends not to be a polarizing issue – in my experience, opinions on the user agent often skew towards the negative, or even more damning, complete apathy (indifference being a fate worse than death [...]

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An always-interesting talking point about Google Glass has been its web browser. Unlike many topics within the Glass community, the browser tends not to be a polarizing issue – in my experience, opinions on the user agent often skew towards the negative, or even more damning, complete apathy (indifference being a fate worse than death for a consumer product). Admittedly, I’m an outlier – in countless conversations throughout Glass’ beta lifespan, whenever the topic of the Glass browser came about I’d typically be The Guy to fly the flag in defense of it. As in, the only guy.

When Allen Firstenberg and I were writing Designing & Developing for Google Glass, we initially dedicated a chapter to web access within the head-mounted display. And while in terms of capabilities the Glass browser stands toe-to-toe with other mobile browser platforms, two concerns always bubble up: How is most web content presented in such a small viewport?, and Does the experience of surfing the web on Glass contradict the wearable goal of microinteractions? That’s what we sought to investigate.

Sadly, our material was destined for a place on the cutting room floor, as it just didn’t jive with the rest of the discussion about the system…which in some people’s minds probably serves as a metaphor for the Glass browser overall. Ouch.

So follow the link below to check out what didn’t make the book’s final printed/electronic version. I’ve updated the user agent signature and browser capabilities test results to be current with the XE22 firmware; but as this was a draft, a couple of things might feel slightly dated. Nevertheless, it’s still worth knowing what the potentials are for experiencing browser-based content on your head when you inevitably need to step out of the timeline and get on the Web.

Read the lost chapter “Wearable web access with Google Glass”. And make sure to join the conversation with members of the Glassware development community about the Glass browser.

The post The Lost Chapter: Wearable Web Access with Google Glass appeared first on Glass Almanac.