What Will Google's 'Glass' Actually Be Like to Wear? - VIDEO

Google released a new video trying to explain what it will be like to actually wear its 'Project Glass' glasses. It's not clear if the experience will outweigh the fact that you have to walk around with these (see photo) on your face all the time, but they've expanded their preorders, so if you're enthusiastic you can apply here.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay Marriage Hate Hinders GOP's Tech Growth

We already know that the Republican Party's dogged commitment to fighting abortion rights and marriage equality are hurting them with the American voters they need to remain relevant. But, as the New York Times reports this weekend, the GOP's politics are also hindering their already slow technological growth. Turns out a bunch of techies are repulsed by their politics, too.

Here's a money clip from that piece, "Can The Republicans Be Saved From Obsolescence?":

Several G.O.P. digital specialists told me that, in addition, they found it difficult to recruit talent because of the values espoused by the party. "I know a lot of people who do technology for a living," [Republican digital guru Michael] Turk said. "And almost universally, there's a libertarian streak that runs through them — information should be free, do your own thing and leave me alone, that sort of mind-set. That's very much what the Internet is. And almost to a person that I've talked to, they say, 'Yeah, I would probably vote for Republicans, but I can't get past the gay-marriage ban, the abortion stance, all of these social causes.'

"Almost universally, they see a future where you have more options, not less. So questions about whether you can be married to the person you want to be married to just flies in the face of the future. They don't want to be part of an organization that puts them squarely on the wrong side of history."

Reporter Robert Draper also spoke with a young GOP activist named Robert Ruffini, and Ruffini told him about attending the liberal candidate and activist training conference RootsCamp.

While there, he saw how the Obama-era Democrats have used technology and a loose organizational structure to spread their word among the masses. The GOP way of organizing, Ruffini realized, was far too centralized and concentrated around stalwarts like the RNC and Karl Rove. Their structure makes them more like that boogeyman they're always conjuring: the socialist.

"The thing I was struck by at RootsCamp was that in many ways, the Democratic technology ecosystem has embraced the free market — whereas the Republican one sort of runs on socialism, with the R.N.C. being the overlord," he said. It was that centralized organizing structure and the ideological factioning is allowed that led so many socialist governments and movements straight into history's dust bin.

Square COO Rabois Resigns Amid Sexual Harassment 'Shakedown'

Keith Rabois, the COO of the multi-billion dollar mobile payments company Square, stepped down late last week amid a sexual harassment lawsuit by his boyfriend who landed a job at Square with Rabois' help. Rabois is calling the legal action a "shakedown".

In a Tumblr post, Rabois told followers he had resigned, and offered details about his relationship and the situation:

Last week, a New York-based attorney threatened Square and myself with a lawsuit. I am told this lawsuit would allege that the relationship was not consensual, and would go on to accuse me of some pretty horrible things. I was told that only a payment of millions of dollars will make this go away, and that my career, my reputation, and my livelihood will be threatened if Square and I don’t pay up.

I realize that continuing any physical relationship after he began working at Square was poor judgment on my part. But let me be unequivocal with the facts: (1) The relationship was welcome. (2) Square did not know of the relationship before a lawsuit was threatened; it came as a complete surprise to the company. (3) He never received nor was denied any reward or benefits based on our relationship. And (4), I did not do the horrendous things I am told I may be accused of. While I have certainly made mistakes, this threat feels like a shakedown, and I will defend myself to the full extent of the law.

The SF Chronicle takes a look at Rabois' background:

Rabois, who was an often-quoted spokesman for Square, is a member of the "PayPal Mafia" from his time as an early executive vice president there. He met PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel while both were students at Stanford University.

Rabois left Stanford Law School after a 1992 incident in which he unleashed a barrage of antigay remarks directed at a faculty member, according to a Chronicle report. The incident ignited a campaign by other law school students denouncing Rabois, but Stanford officials couldn't discipline him because of free speech protections.

In a book and in later interviews, Thiel said his friend had been trying to challenge the university's political correctness rules. Rabois' resume includes executive positions at LinkedIn and Slide. His LinkedIn profile also notes his seven months as policy director for Vice President Dan Quayle, when he helped develop speeches on China, the American family and "extending the VP's 'Murphy Brown' legacy."

Rabois says he resigned to spare his colleagues from "the distraction that a lawsuit would most certainly bring." He also said he has a big new project in the works.

Reddit's 'Gaymer' Community Rejects Site Owner's Trademark

Minority groups and labels have always had a complicated, sometimes tense relationship.

The terms and monikers concocted by dominant cultures are often reclaimed, taken back and reworked for the group's own purposes. The term queer is the most common example from the LGBT experience. Other times, though, the groups think of their own nomenclature, one created to provide linguistic insulation from a hostile culture. For example, video game-loving gay people call themselves "gaymers," hence the name of Chris Vizzini's website, Gaymer.org.

Vizzini trademarked that expression, and has been trying to get reddit's "gaymer" community to find a new terminology. To make clear he means business, he sent reddit a cease and desist letter demanding the popular site create its own designation.

Furious flesh-and-blood gaymers on reddit have now filed a petition with the U.S. Trademarks and Patents Office to take back "gaymer." According to them, gaymer belongs to the community and should therefore be exempt from copyright status.

Ars Technica outlines the case and the gaymer case:

The "gaymer" trademark is claimed by Chris Vizzini, who also blogs at his website, gaymer.org. Vizzini sent a cease-and-desist letter to Reddit complaining about the /r/gaymers subreddit. That got the group's attention, and caused it to lawyer up. /r/gaymers now has pro bono lawyers from a major law firm, Perkins Coie, as well as from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The purpose of trademark law is to protect consumers by making sure they know the true origin of goods and services. The /r/gamers petition, prepared by lawyers at Perkins Coie and EFF, argues that Vizzini's trademark is a distortion of the law's purpose, and should be canceled.

"This registration should never have been granted," said EFF lawyer Corynne McSherry in a statement today. "Gaymer is a common term that refers to members of this vibrant gaming community, and we are happy to help them fight back and make sure the term goes back to the public domain where it belongs."

The lawsuit points out, "Public use of the word gaymer dates back to at least the early 1990s, when a growing group of individuals within the gaming community began using it to identify themselves."

"Due to this long period of widespread, generic use, the relevant public has come to recognize gaymer as a common term for individuals within the LGBT community who have an active interest in video games and the online video game community," it reads.

To that point, reddit user Ozuri wrote a post about their own adoption of the term, and how it's interlaced with his or her identity:

… I grew up in an age when being a nerd was not a synonym for tech savvy entrepreneur with a high-paying job at Google; it meant social stigma, awkward interactions with peers and coming in last on the day we ran laps. Coupled with the crippling anxiety of being gay (and for me, being from an evangelical Christian background), being a gay nerd who loved video games was the proverbial hat trick of otherness...

For me, it is the marrying of my hobby and a part of my identity that allowed me to grow into my own as an adult. I am a gaymer.

Mr. Vizzini, you keep using the word 'gaymer'; I do not think it means what you think it means. To the rest of us, it means community. It means pride in our differentness and our small community. It means inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness.

Vizzini defended himself last September, when the embers of this public war were only just beginning to burn on reddit, and told the community there that he was simply defending what was rightfully his:

As a trademark and word mark holder, it's my responsibility to defend the marks, otherwise I could lose them.

I started Gaymer.org in 2003 and began to build Gaymer as a brand. Thats why I trademarked and word marked the name. At that time, there was only one other site around dedicated to gay gamers. I have spent countless hours and thousands of dollars on Gaymer.org. I have done so gladly as it's brought happiness to many people.

I have received many nasty emails and comments on my site, not to mention what's been said on the reddit site.

I cannot stress this enough. I have no problem with other gay gaming sites. I think it's great others exist. The only problem I have is when the Gaymer name is used. That infringes on the word mark. A perfect example of this is gaygamer.net. Its a great website for gay gamers but does not use "gaymer" in its name therefore I have no problem.

It's only when "gaymer" is used in the site name that causes confusion to the public. That is what word marking is all about.

What say you, reader? Does Vizzini have a valid point or is he unnecessarily trying to take a public term private?

In His Short Life, Aaron Swartz Refused To Be Categorized

The New York Times today has a very detailed, very well-written and very touching obituary for Aaron Swartz, the master coder who invented RSS, forever changing the way we use the internet, and who took his own life on Friday.

Here is a snippet about the 26-year old's struggle with depression:

Recent years had been hard for Mr. Swartz, Ms. Norton said, and she characterized him "in turns tough and delicate." He had "struggled with chronic, painful illness as well as depression," she said, without specifying the illness, but he was still hopeful "at least about the world."
...

In a talk in 2007, Mr. Swartz described having had suicidal thoughts during a low period in his career. He also wrote about his struggle with depression, distinguishing it from sadness.

"Go outside and get some fresh air or cuddle with a loved one and you don’t feel any better, only more upset at being unable to feel the joy that everyone else seems to feel. Everything gets colored by the sadness."

When the condition gets worse, he wrote, "you feel as if streaks of pain are running through your head, you thrash your body, you search for some escape but find none. And this is one of the more moderate forms."

Also, some have wondered whether Mr. Swartz was gay. In fact, he was not. Not by his definition. While he did hook-up with men, Swartz refused to identify by a label he found to be completely fabricated. His sexual thinking was very much in line with his generation's.

From a piece he wrote in 2009; it's called "Why I Am Not Gay":

Having sex with other people of your gender isn't an identity, it's an act. And, like sex in general among consenting adults, people should be able to do it if they want to. Having sex with someone shouldn't require an identity crisis. (Nobody sees having-sex-with-white-people as part of their identity, even if that’s primarily who they’re attracted to.)

People shouldn't be forced to categorize themselves as "gay," "straight," or "bi." People are just people. Maybe you're mostly attracted to men. Maybe you're mostly attracted to women. Maybe you're attracted to everyone. These are historical claims — not future predictions.

If we truly want to expand the scope of human freedom, we should encourage people to date who they want; not just provide more categorical boxes for them to slot themselves into. A man who has mostly dated men should be just as welcome to date women as a woman who's mostly dated men.

So that's why I'm not gay. I hook up with people. I enjoy it. Sometimes they're men, sometimes they're women. I don't see why it needs to be any more complicated than that.

It is truly heartbreaking that someone so smart (clearly he was a genius), so motivated to justice and so young could not, would not or did not get the help that could have saved his life.

If you are someone you know is experiencing suicical ideation, call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at  1-800-273-8255, the national GLBT National Youth Talkline at 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743), or The Trevor Project, an organization specifically focused on LGBT people, at 866-488-7386.

Reddit Cofounder Aaron Swartz Dead From Suicide At 26

Some sad news out of New York City: Aaron Swartz, the digital activist best known for laying the groundwork for massively popular (and powerful) aggregating site Reddit, took his own life yesterday.

MIT's The Tech gives more details about Swartz's short life:

Swartz was indicted in July 2011 by a federal grand jury for allegedly mass downloading documents from the JSTOR online journal archive with the intent to distribute them. He subsequently moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he then worked for Avaaz Foundation, a nonprofit "global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere." Swartz appeared in court on Sept. 24, 2012 and pleaded not guilty.

The accomplished Swartz co-authored the now widely-used RSS 1.0 specification at age 14, was one of the three co-owners of the popular social news site Reddit, and completed a fellowship at Harvard’s Ethics Center Lab on Institutional Corruption.

In their notice of Swartz's death, CNN included a note he wrote about his inevitable death: "There is a moment, immediately before life becomes no longer worth living, when the world appears to slow down and all its myriad details suddenly become brightly, achingly apparent."

Boing Boing cofounder and a Swartz's friend, Cory Doctorow, said, "Aaron accomplished some incredible things in his life.

"He was one of the early builders of Reddit (someone always turns up to point out that he was technically not a co-founder, but he was close enough as makes no damn), got bought by Wired/Conde Nast, engineered his own dismissal and got cashed out, and then became a full-time, uncompromising, reckless and delightful shit-disturber."

And to think of all the things he could have still accomplished...