Gadgetory

out of all the cool gadgets coming out this year the most interesting has got to be Google's internet-connected eyewear Google glass but aside from making you look a little strange and taking pictures as you recklessly spin people's kids around well Google glass actually do for you I'm Donald Bell and today's top five I'll be counting down my list of the most useful ways that Google glass might be worth the public humiliation starting things off at number five TV enhancement a little screen help make watch the big screen more fun now Google doesn't show any couch potatoes in their promo videos but you know is gonna happen you could call it play your stats during a baseball game or look up an actor's IMDB page during Game of Thrones on the downside Google has a knack for putting ads on everything it makes at number four biofeedback you think the Nike FuelBand is awesome you just wait until you have a heads-up display of your heartrate your calories burn your steps taken all that stuff superimposed over your morning jog maybe it'll help you with your golf swing or jump shot maybe you will gently remind you that you've been sitting on your ass in front of your computer for six hours straight Google glass could make us better people coming in at number three face recognition now Google hasn't announced this as an actual feature yet and I understand that there is a huge privacy obliterating downside if they ever did but won't it be fun for like a minute I mean as someone who is really bad at remembering people's names it would be like crutches from my brain oh hey how's it going Dave you know it would maybe would also tip you off there's someone at a party that you want to avoid like an X or some creep wearing Google glasses all right now we're starting to get into the genuinely useful stuff at number two instruction want to learn how to bake the perfect oatmeal cookie just pull up the step by step YouTube video on your eyeball need advice on changing a diaper hopefully not your diaper just get mom on a Google hangout and a show or a point of view streaming HD video of what a disastrous parent you are so we can upload skills directly into our brain matrix style Google glass might be the next best thing but it also has the potential to be the final blow to any sense of personal space we have left before we get to the number one potential benefit of Google glass let's account for the negative side effects have you ever had a complete stranger come up to you and put a camera in your face it's unsettling and if Google glass takes off like Google hopes any notion of public anonymity will be gone we will be the big brother we've always feared and if you think smartphones have killed dinner table conversation just wait until Facebook and Twitter are running constantly on everyone's eyeballs it's enough to make you want to live off the grid and black out the windows in your solar-powered geodesic dome you have every right to be ambivalent about this thing but maybe it's all worth it for number one right navigation Google glass looks like the best tool ever invented for the directionally challenged whether you're in your car on your bike or hiking around you've got a permanent readout of where you are and where you want to go it'll be great for tourists or just anyone trying to figure out their way out of an Ikea so there you have it five potential uses for Google glass that have me both excited and slightly terrified for Humanity you can follow me over on Twitter for updates on my geodesic bunker or head over to top-5 cnet.com for more of these amazing top 5 videos i'm donald bell thanks for watching you