For those of you who don't like to get away when you're getting away:
It is the gadget that every workaholic will be clamouring for – a pair of ski goggles that let you read your emails while on the slopes.
The £500 Oakley Airwave has a fighter pilot-style screen on the inside of the lens, displaying a skier’s speed, location, altitude and distance travelled as they zoom down the slopes.
The goggles can also connect to an iPhone or Android phone or tablet, transmitting incoming calls to an earpiece.
Anyone who leads a life in which a device like this actually makes sense needs to 1) stay away from the slopes so you don't hurt other people, and 2) think about your life.
On a more serious note, this is an expensive and slightly extreme example of a problematic assumption: that everything is made better when you add connectivity. Driving somewhere? Have your GPS unit Tweet your location! Is tonight's sushi dinner delicious? Say it on Facebook!
No.
What if the goggles could analyze your skiing and then offer improvements? Would you buy it?
Posted by: Neill Kramer | 11/02/2012 at 05:00 PM
Well, my skiing is hopeless. But if it made me more aware of what I was doing on the slopes, that would be a completely different proposition. It might make me a more self-aware skiier, able to improve and to understand HOW to improve.
The problem with the goggles as they're currently advertised is that they offer a distraction from what should be an engaging, all-consuming activity. They promise to mentally whisk you away from your vacation, the crisp air and fine powder, and give you back to your voice mail and the office. Not. That. Useful.
Posted by: Alex Soojung-Kim Pang | 11/03/2012 at 12:41 PM