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VOA Uses Google Glass at Concert


VOA Uses Google Glass at Concert
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Washington celebrated a milestone in music history this week: It has been 50 years since the Beatles first arrived in America and won the hearts of millions. They went on to achieve fame and fortune for their new version of rock 'n roll. On February 11, 1964, the band performed its first concert on U.S. soil, in the nation's capital. Another concert was held this year to commemorate that occasion. VOA set its own milestone by recording that anniversary concert through the wearable technology called Google Glass.

What one sees is deceiving in two ways. It looks like the Beatles, but it’s actually a band called “Beatlemania” that plays Beatles songs. They're commemorating the Beatles' first concert in the U.S. held at the Washington Coliseum.

What a viewer is looking at was actually shot by Google Glass, a wearable device. It's a computer that looks like a prism -- attached to what looks like eyeglass frames.

Wearing this technology prompts stares and comments.

Mike Mitchell took photos of the Beatles 50 years ago. During our interview via Google Glass, he marveled at the technology, calling it "really amazing.”

Frederic Lardinois writes for Tech Crunch, a website about technology news. We both put on our Google Glass for the Skype interview.

He liked VOA's idea of using Google Glass to record the concert because, unlike cellphones, you can tape a concert and watch it at the same time. Lardinois said wearable devices are used mainly for fitness, but he thinks that will soon change.

"It will become more mainstream. But that means the applications will become more mainstream. It has to get out of the sports enthusiasts world and more to something like Glass, where it's useful information, more useful information to you. So it's more than just counting calories," said Lardinois.

It would have been hard to “Imagine” back then what the future would look like. The crowd has gone from screaming teens to baby boomers. And media coverage has progressed from black-and-white to Google Glass.
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