This 24-Year-Old Is Writing A New Operating System For Google Glass That Google Can't Control
Stephen Balaban
Hackers are starting to make Glass do a whole bunch of things Google has forbidden the device to do.
And thanks to 24-year-old Stephen Balaban, they may soon be able control the device a lot more.
Balaban has built "an alternative operating system that runs on Glass but is not controlled by Google," he told NPR's Steve Henn.
Google is trying to walk a fine line between encouraging developers to write awesome apps for Glass and keeping people from getting too freaked out about the potential spying/creepiness/unwholesome factor.
For instance, Google has banned porn apps.
And, a couple of months ago, it banned facial recognition software.
The ban came after Balaban, one of the developers behind commercial facial recognition startup Lambda Labs, built a facial recognition app for Glass.
After the ban, he promised he wasn't giving up. As people tweeted disappointment, Lambda Labs replied:
@jnparis @allthingsd @lizgannes Don't worry, we think it's a core feature. Google will allow it or be replaced with something that does.
— Lambda Labs (@LambdaAPI) June 1, 2013
We reached out to Balaban for comment and will share more details on this project when we get them.
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