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View Full Version : MPAA goes nuclear on Google Glass, bans wearables altogether from theaters



alanjg007
09-11-2014, 11:42 AM
After more than a year of living at the edge of illegality, Google Glass has been officially outlawed in US movie theaters, along with any wearable devices capable of recording video.

Whether you consider them a passing fad or the future of computing, head-mounted contraptions such as Google Glass are here to stay for the time being. And as long as they?re staying, they?re bound to stir not just controversy regarding their real-life utility.

They?re also producing heated debates about the influence their use could have on drivers, and are frowned upon in cinemas. Scratch that, they?re banned now, under new MPAA and NATO policy. That?s the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theatre Owners (yes, different NATO), for those of you not omniscient of acronyms.

Cracking down on wearables is likely to make the film industry even less friendly to power tech users, who?ve grown accustomed to watching their content from the comfort of their homes. Or on the move. But at least Google Glass owners know something for sure at long last.

Starting today, you?d better get a spare if you wear them with prescription lenses. And leave them at home otherwise if you?re planning to catch Interstellar on the big screen. Of course, you could always bring them with you, turn them off and put them away at show time.

Unfortunately, MPAA and NATO?s rephrased and updated guidelines still leave room for interpretation, discussions and controversies. Not necessarily regarding Google Glass, but as far as other wearables are concerned.

Namely, the rulebook says all ?recording devices, including wearable devices? have to be shut down and left behind when entering a theater. Theoretically, that includes a number of current and future smartwatches.

Sure, intelligent timepieces can be hardly used to record full movies at great detail and thus favor piracy, but the MPAA doesn?t seem to care. After all, the battery inside Google Glass is likely to last no more than 30 minutes in video-taking mode, yet the gadget is deemed dangerous by Hollywood for copyright infringement and whatnot.