GigaOM » glass

MIT creates glare-free, self cleaning, water repellent glass

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:44:56 +0000

If a smartphone or tablet with glass that’s glare-free, repels liquids and is self-cleaning sounds appealing, you might want to start following MIT’s research. The university published a paper describing one of their new discoveries: Glass that would be perfect for mobile devices.

The secret sauce of the research is layers of glass that are selectively removed to create microscopic cones. This nanotech innovation adds the desirable characteristics for this wonder glass.

From the MIT News site:

“The new “multifunctional” glass, based on surface nanotextures that produce an array of conical features, is self-cleaning and resists fogging and glare, the researchers say. Ultimately, they hope it can be made using an inexpensive manufacturing process that could be applied to optical devices, the screens of smartphones and televisions, solar panels, car windshields and even windows in buildings.”

The glass would essentially look nearly invisible because of the lack of glare, fog or any other visual cue that the eye can see. And the water beading attribute turns into a glass cleaner of sorts. Check this video showing the beads rolling off the glass and pulling dust where the droplets bounce off.

Obviously as the MIT News site indicates, this technology could be used in a wide array of products. If it can be lent to the touchscreen display market, phone and tablets could offer a more immersive experience: Interacting with a screen you can’t see would be more akin to interacting directly with the user interface elements.

Solar panels, too, could benefit from such an innovation. If solar panels installed on roofs and on the ground could repel liquid and even be self cleaning, that could help the panels provide as much optimal power as possible. Solar panels need to be cleaned periodically to work properly.

It may not even cost that much to include this tech in certain types of glass manufacturing. As MIT notes, “[I]n the future glass or transparent polymer films might be manufactured with such surface features simply by passing them through a pair of textured rollers while still partially molten; such a process would add minimally to the cost of manufacture.”

The only question I have left is: Will it hide all of the residue from those screen taps or will our mobile devices still be a magnet for fingerprints?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Website Note Sharing App Glass Now Open to All

Thursday Bram — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:01:26 +0000

Glass, an app that allows users to share notes about any website, is now out of private beta. Since I wrote about initial launch of the tool, there has been a major redesign, and the invite wall has been dropped, making it possible to sign up immediately.

Simplified Sharing

Glass’ major benefit lies in how quickly and easily you can comment on a site and share it. There are plugins available for both Firefox and Chrome, letting you add your own thoughts to a website with a click of a button. Those thoughts can include links, images and video.

The messaging system built into Glass makes collaboration convenient. Not only can you send along your comments to other users, but Glass has built-in messaging features. Users receive real-time notifications and can effectively chat about the sites they share.

There are a few pleasant surprises if you signed up for Glass early on in the private beta but haven’t spent a lot of time on it since. There is a mobile version, available for the iPhone, along with plenty of bells and whistles geared toward sharing information. You can create well-designed slides through Glass’ interface, making your comments something truly worth sharing. You can also organize the users you follow and your own information through the use of interest groups and lists.

The Mechanics

There’s a layer of security built into Glass that can make it a more useful option for teams interested in sharing information that closely ties into what they’re working on. The use of SSL encryption creates a tool that organizations can feel confident in using. Glass also takes care to reassure users that the owners of those sites that you may comment on can’t actually see your comments — unless, of course, you share them.

Glass remains free and appears to have further developments in the pipeline; right after coming out of beta, the site has already announced a new slide theme as a “thank you” to the users who came through beta with the application.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Glassgate: Where Does Apple’s Responsibility End?

Darrell Etherington — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:00:01 +0000

Apple is pulling slide-on iPhone 4 cases from its retail shelves and the online store. Customers are reporting scratches and cracks caused by grit trapped between case and iPhone. Clearly, Apple wants to avoid a repeat of Antennagate. But is the company overreacting?

I don’t question the fact that Apple’s latest iPhone is susceptible to scratches, despite Apple Store employee claims that the “helicopter glass” used in its construction can withstand high velocity impacts, but I do question the iPhone maker’s responsibility regarding the glass case design when it comes to consumers.

The antenna is a different story. For users in poor coverage zones, where it might actually completely cut off signal reception, that’s a usage issue, and addressing it head-on was necessary. But scratches and cracks caused by contact with abrasive material? Not only is that a cosmetic problem, it’s also one people should be able to reasonably expect before even buying an iPhone, just by looking at the thing. Does it affect the product’s reliability? Clearly not, since the iPhone 4 is still the least likely smartphone to malfunction, according to a new SquareTrade report.

I have a case that involves a sliding component, and I use it all the time. I’m always careful to make sure the back is clean of dirt and dust before I slide the case on, but I’m also not going to be amazed or disappointed in Apple’s craftsmanship if I find scratches on the surface as a result.

My iPhone 3GS was criss-crossed with scratches by the time I retired it from service, but it also still worked fine. In fact, my girlfriend still uses it without issue, and it looks much better than the BlackBerry devices of friends who’ve had their phones for less than six months. No one comes up with a Watergate-based name for the way the cheap silver paint on RIM-designed bezels never fails to rub off and flake.

The iPhone 4′s design may not be perfect. It may even be more susceptible to damage than the last generation device. Is it a flaw? No. Should Apple be hand-holding consumers who can’t think logically about what might damage their devices? No. Should Apple continue to make risky design decisions that set the bar in terms of consumer electronics aesthetics? A thousand times yes.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Glass Backing Next iPhone 4 Controversy?

Charles Jade — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 23:00:40 +0000

In a provocative essay, Ryan Block at gdgt asserts Apple is aware that the glass backing of the iPhone 4 is “another design flaw.” Even if true, this is hardly “Antennagate.”

Although much was made of the iPhone 4 antenna at launch, it turned out to suffer from a technical defect, and a much larger public relations problem. At the same launch, the glass on the iPhone 4 also received a little publicity. Made of aluminosilicate glass, it was described as “20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic” and “comparable in strength to sapphire crystal.”

Not so, says Block, who cites “sources both inside and outside Apple” as confirming “another potential design flaw,” resulting in a “quiet panic” within the company. The issue is supposedly that the glass backing is prone to scratching, cracking, and fracturing, especially when used in conjunction with certain cases, specifically slide-on cases.

According to Block, to prevent another “Antennagate,” Apple temporarily halted sales of almost all third-party cases, and slide-on cases for the iPhone 4 are still “conspicuously absent” from the Apple Store. Further, there may not be a solution to the “design flaw,” and Block suggests that this will be the end of the glass backing for the iPhone.

While it’s difficult to disprove any of those assertions, mostly because they are based on somewhat questionable data, it’s hard to see how the so-called “Glassgate” situation could be as big a problem as the iPhone 4 antenna. First, unlike with the antenna, there haven’t been nearly as many anecdotal reports on the issue, either in the media or in discussions at Apple Support.

While you can still find some discussions on the issue, the number of views and participants are insignificant compared to what happened with the antenna. Apple also hasn’t tried to cover up the issue by removing discussion threads, as was the case with the iPhone 4 antenna. More importantly, unlike the iPhone 4 antenna, the glass backing can easily be replaced should it fail.

That doesn’t mean the glass backing is impervious to harm, just that an alleged design flaw in this area hardly seems comparable to the antenna issue. Nonetheless, for those who own an iPhone 4, or are thinking of buying one, a survival kit is a good way to protect your iPhone 4′s surfaces from scratching.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Sharing Website Notes With Glass

Thursday Bram — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:00:36 +0000

If you’re like me, you probably have days when half the emails in your inbox are links to websites; sometimes without an explanation of why someone on your team felt the need to send you that particular link. Maybe it’s a link to your own website and someone’s trying to communicate that there’s an update needed. Or maybe it’s a link to another site that gave them an idea for moving forward on your current project. Maybe it’s even a link to the website of a lead. Having a simple system in place for adding contextual information to the websites shared would be useful.

Glass is a such a tool. It makes sharing websites — along with adding the required context — a matter of clicking a button in your browser. It’s based on a browser plugin, available for both Firefox and Chrome, that essentially creates a secondary, real-time information sharing “level” for a website when you turn it on. Like writing on a sheet of glass placed over a map, you can add notes on that level and forward them to someone in your network. It’s as much a useful tool for noting design changes that need to be made to a website as it is for noting a reason to contact a prospective lead.

Adding Conversation to the Mix

Glass’s concept grew out of the problems that can come with forwarding a list of links. Diego Prats, the startup’s CEO, says, “I used to try to share massive lists of links but that would lead to confusion over what to click or what was important. In the end, I just wanted to make them look or watch something so we could talk about it. With that in mind, we set out to create Glass so we could effectively point to anything on the web and have our own private conversation right there. It’s our way of eliminating that ‘you had to be there’ or ‘oh you didn’t see that’ kind of moment.”

The back and forth when discussing websites can quickly lose the context of the site itself, if your conversation isn’t actually forcing you to open up that link every time. Glass’s approach — allowing you to respond to comments on that layer laid top of the website you’re discussing — keeps everyone on the same page.

Keeping It All in Context

Sharing information comes down to a question of context. Prats notes, “For us, sharing context is really about creating more value for the conversation and the content being discussed. Glass is not about telling you about something interesting that you found and hoping you may check it out, but instead, it’s about bringing you into the fold and the moment so you can experience it as well… Whether it’s about sharing recipes, a new gallery show we should attend, the latest news in technology, apartment listings on craigslist, or even new design comps we’re collaborating on, we’ll always know what we were talking about and what everyone said, as that’s all stored together.”

Let us know what you think of Glass in the comments.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub. req.):

Rumor Has It: Apple’s Tablet Release Plans Delayed Due to Glass

Darrell Etherington — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:13 +0000

The Apple tablet, which over the holidays has garnered more buzz despite still being a rumor, has already been delayed. Don’t worry, though — if the reports are correct, the delay has already been factored into the rumored January product announcement, so we shouldn’t have to wait any longer for the big reveal.

DigiTimes is the source for a parts-related rumor about the upcoming device. Foxconn subsidiary Innolux, which specializes in panel manufacture, will be the exclusive initial touch panel supplier for the upcoming tablet, not Wintek as was once believed, the hardware news site reports. Wintek will still be considered as a later, secondary supplier, sources say.

The glass that protects the touch-sensitive surface needed to be stronger than Apple initially expected, and so the tablet was reportedly delayed to the first quarter of 2010. No word on when plans initially called for it to be released. The glass will supposedly be strengthened by a process developed by another Foxconn subsidiary, called G-Tech Optoelectronics. Sounds like Apple is really taking the time to make sure the product it eventually does release is heads and tails above the competition in terms of build quality.

Based on the information it received, DigiTimes suggested a probably time line for the announcement and subsequent consumer release of Apple’s tablet:

Apple is expected to announce the tablet PC in January of 2010 with mass shipments to start in March or April, based on analysis of the shipping schedules of Apple’s upstream component partners.

Note also that according to the information received by DigiTimes, the tablet will sport a 10-inch screen, instead of the 7-inch one that’s recently been making the rounds. It’s possible that Apple will offer up two different sizes of the tablet, but I don’t think it’ll do so until it sees how strong demand is for the new device.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

New iMacs Feature 21.5 and 27-inch Displays and Available Quad-Core Processors

Darrell Etherington — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:51:43 +0000

Well, the Apple Store went down, and we waited with bated breath. And most of what people expected to see came true. One of those expectations was new iMacs, and Apple’s all-in-one desktops did indeed get a nice upgrade and redesign. That means you’re old hat, iMac which I’m typing this up on right now.

The new iMacs feature LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays, with a new edge-to-edge glass and seamless aluminum case design. It’s quite the sexy little get up, and it’s sure to turn a few heads. Also sure to turn heads is the introduction of quad-core processors to the iMac line, though the entry level model still sports an Intel Core 2 Duo processor by default.

In the official Apple press release detailing the new hardware, Phil Schiller focused on the LED-backlighting and the inclusion of the new Magic Mouse when talking up the new all-in-ones:

The iMac is widely praised as the best desktop computer in the world and today we are making it even better. With brilliant LED displays and the revolutionary Magic Mouse, the new iMac delivers an amazing desktop experience that we think customers will love.

The new displays feature 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution for the 21.5-inch, and 2560 x 1440 for the 27-inch, which mathematically inclined readers will note makes the aspect ratio for the screens 16:9. That’s good news for HD movie and TV show watchers, but the changed ratio might not excite web and print professionals quite as much. Still, as Apple points out, the display on the new 27-inch screen does provide 60 percent more working area, which is never a bad thing.

Graphics computing power also gets a boost in the new line. The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated card is still around, but the ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete card is an option on the 21.5- and 27-inch model, while the ATI Radeon HD 4850 is reserved as an option exclusively available for the bigger computer. The new iMacs now have 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM standard, and the potential to increase that to up to 16GB.

As for storage space, you’ll get 500GB in the base 21.5-inch model, or 1TB in the mid-range 21.5-inch or top-of-the-line 27-inch versions. All drives operate at 7200 rpm. Of the four available models, only the most expensive 27-inch 2.66 GHz version offers a Core i5 chip, with an option to upgrade to the Core i7. All three of the other models offer the Intel Core 2 Duo processor operating at 3.06GHz. Four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800, and a brand new SD card slot are also standard on all models.

New iMac owners get a nice bonus when it comes to input devices, as wireless keyboards and the new Magic Mouse, which only comes in a wireless (Bluetooth) variety, are now standard with every machine. Apple is clearly doing its best to de-clutter your workspace, or at least to add to the perceived value of its machines, since the price points of the new models have not changed as some had suspected. The base models are priced at $1,199, $1,499, $1,699 and $1,999 respectively.

So long as you aren’t in the market for the $2,000 quad-core beast, you can order now from the Apple Store and your computer should ship in 1-3 business days. The Core i5 model isn’t shipping until “November,” according to Apple’s website, which is maddeningly vague. Attempting to upgrade to the Core i7 does nothing to remedy the situation, which doesn’t come as a surprise.

Finally, I spotted a new Apple Remote as an add-on option on the ordering screen. Not an iMac exclusive, but the little guy does get an aluminum makeover, with black buttons, and looks much fancier. Is it worth an additional $19 now? Not sure, but at least it matches the machine it works with.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Glass Cinema Displays?

Josh Pigford — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:12:08 +0000

On Tuesday, when Jobs announced the new iMac, he really made an effort to sell the new materials…aluminum and glass (which are two major components of the new iMac).

Glass is significantly more durable than the current material used in the LCD screens. It’s almost completely scratch resistant and has a much smaller chance of getting punctured in some way. Glass is also a lot easier to recycle.

Another thing Jobs mentioned was that they’ve had overwhelming feedback about the glossy displays on the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

So, those things being noted, do you think the next revision to their Cinema Display line with feature glass screens? I know I love the sharper colors on my glossy MBP screen. It’d be nice to see it on a larger scale (say…a 30″ display?).

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.