Chapter 5
In This Chapter
Touring the MyGlass website
Adding and managing contacts
Enabling a Wi-Fi network
Tracking the current location of your Glass
Enabling and disabling Glassware applications
Each day I live in a glass room unless I break it with the thrusting of my senses and pass through the splintered walls to the great landscape.
— Mervyn Peake
In this chapter, we introduce the MyGlass website, which you can access from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. MyGlass allows you to tweak your Glass settings so that the device works best for you.
If you want to add your Glass to another Wi-Fi network, such as a network offered by a hotel where you’re staying, you can do this with MyGlass. You can also locate a misplaced Glass with MyGlass so that you can get your device back in your hands as soon as possible.
In addition, you can use MyGlass to enable or disable Glassware, which is a Google term for web-based apps that can send data to and receive data from Glass, as well as apps that are written specifically to run on Glass. This enabling and disabling feature allows you to hide Glassware so that your Glass screen shows only the apps you want to use.
To tour MyGlass for the first time, fire up your favorite browser on your computer, tablet, or smartphone and then follow these steps:
If you aren’t logged in to your Google account already, you see the Google login page so that you can log in to your Google account.
If you’re already logged in to Google, you may see a warning page similar to Figure 5-1. Don’t panic; this warning screen is a good thing. Google is making sure that you are who you say you are, because it doesn’t want an unauthorized user changing your Glass experience.
After you log in, the MyGlass home page appears, as shown in Figure 5-2. The home-page content is organized in a row of cards, just as in your Glass timeline, so you’ll feel right at home. A menu bar appears at the top of the home page, with menu options at the left end and your Google e-mail address and account photo at the right end.
One of the cards on the MyGlass home page lets you add a contact (refer to Figure 5-2), because Google recognizes that you’ll often want to contact your friends via voice call, video call, or instant message. Google also knows that you’ll likely prefer telling your Glass to call people to fumbling for your smartphone.
To make your life even easier, Google allows you to import contacts from your Google Contacts database to your Glass by using the MyGlass website or the MyGlass app on your smartphone. When you initiate a voice call, video call, or instant message, your Glass shows a list of your contacts so you can scroll to and select the desired contact.
To import an existing contact from your Google Contacts database to MyGlass, follow these steps:
As you type, contact names appear in a list below the Add Contact field. These names are those in your Google Contacts database that most closely match the name you’re typing. If you keep typing, the list may grow shorter as MyGlass finds database names that even more closely match the contact you’re searching for.
The new contact appears as a card on the MyGlass home page. You find out more about contact cards later in this chapter.
If you want to add a contact, here’s how to do it:
The New Contact page appears as a new tab in your web browser (see Figure 5-6). If you’re using the MyGlass app on your Android smartphone, your default contact management app appears on your smartphone’s screen.
A contact card (see Figure 5-7) displays the same information on the MyGlass website and in the MyGlass app: the contact’s name, a photo of the contact (if any), and icons in the top-left corner that show what type of information the card contains.
In Figure 5-7, the envelope icon indicates that the contact has an e-mail address, and the telephone-receiver icon shows that the contact has a phone number.
You can get more information about the contact by tapping the contact card. If the contact has more than one e-mail address and/or more than one phone number, a blue check box appears to the right of the contact’s preferred e-mail address and/or phone number, as shown in Figure 5-8.
If you want to set a new preferred e-mail address and/or phone number for a contact, tap the check box to the right of that address or number (refer to Figure 5-8). The check box turns blue to indicate that the address or number is now the preferred one.
When you finish viewing a contact card, close it by tapping the Close icon (the X) in the top-right corner.
MyGlass makes it easy for you to edit a contact. Follow these steps:
The Google Contacts website opens.
Your changes appear in the contact tile.
You can remove a contact from MyGlass by clicking or tapping the contact card in the MyGlass screen and then clicking or tapping Remove from Glass (refer to Figure 5-8 earlier in this chapter). MyGlass removes the contact from its database.
Synchronizing your Google Contacts database with Glass can take a while if your database has multiple contacts for several people. Fortunately, Google Contacts makes it easy to clean up your database by merging information in all contacts that have the same name. To merge contacts, follow these steps:
You see a list of contacts that contain duplicate data, such as the same e-mail address.
When you’re out and about, you won’t have access to the Wi-Fi network that you use on a regular basis in your home or office. If you’re going to be using a Wi-Fi network in your office, at a hotel, or even at your favorite coffee shop, you can add a new Wi-Fi network for your current location within the MyGlass website (www.google.com/myglass) and save it the next time you’re there.
You’ll find two types of Wi-Fi networks:
MyGlass makes it easy for you to set up a new Wi-Fi network that you can store on your Glass so you can connect to the network easily when you’re in range of that network.
The first step in connecting to a Wi-Fi network in MyGlass is generating a QR (Quick Response) code for that network. You can create a QR code for two types of Wi-Fi networks: an open network, which doesn’t require a password, and an encrypted (or hidden) network, which requires a password. (For more on QR codes, see Chapter 3.)
If you’re at a location that offers public Wi-Fi, such as a coffee shop or an airport, here’s how to create a QR code for that public network:
The Add Network card appears so that you can add information about your Wi-Fi network.
Passwords are case-sensitive.
This link is active only when you’ve entered all the information for your Wi-Fi network. If the link is disabled, check your settings to ensure that you named your network properly, selected the correct encryption method, and entered a password if necessary.
After you select Generate Code, a QR code appears onscreen. This code allows you to add the Wi-Fi network, which we discuss in “Adding the network to your Glass” later in this chapter.
To create a QR code for a hidden network, follow these steps:
The Add Network card appears (refer to Figure 5-11).
Note that passwords are case-sensitive.
You see three encryption options in the drop-down menu: None, WPA/WPA2, and WEB (see Figure 5-12).
If you don’t know which encryption method the network uses and/or the network password, consult the staff of the location that offers the Wi-Fi service.
This link is active only when you’ve entered all the information for your Wi-Fi network. If the link is disabled, check your settings to ensure that you named your network properly, selected the correct encryption method, and entered a password (if necessary).
After you select Generate Code, a QR code appears onscreen, as shown in Figure 5-13. This code allows you to add the Wi-Fi network, which we discuss in the next section.
Here’s how to add a Wi-Fi network to your Glass with a generated QR code (refer to the preceding section):
The Settings screen appears.
If Glass detects Wi-Fi networks available near you, you see one of the network cards onscreen. Scroll through all the networks by swiping forward on the touchpad. After you scroll past the last network card, you see the Add Wifi Network card.
When Glass recognizes the QR code, it connects to the Wi-Fi network automatically and chimes when the connection is complete.
You return to the MyGlass home page.
On your Glass, you see your new Wi-Fi network connection onscreen (see Figure 5-18).
The MyGlass app for your Android smartphone includes the nifty Device Location card, which helps you locate your Glass as quickly as possible in case you misplace it.
The Device Location card in MyGlass (see Figure 5-19) shows you the current location of your Glass. It also shows the last time MyGlass checked your smartphone to get the location of your Glass.
To view a map showing the device’s current location, click or tap the card. A map displays the pinned location of your Glass device, as shown in Figure 5-20. Unfortunately, this display is as close as MyGlass can get to finding your Glass, but it should give you enough information to search the area or call the authorities.
Glassware apps can send content to and receive content from your Glass. Some Glassware apps are preinstalled. You can use MyGlass to shop for more Glassware and to customize the apps on your Glass by tapping the Glassware menu option at the top of the MyGlass home page.
A list of Glassware apps appears on the MyGlass home page. Each Glassware app card contains the name of the app, a brief description, and an On/Off slider button (see Figure 5-21).
If the slider displays the blue On button, the Glassware app is enabled. You can disable the app by tapping or clicking the gray Off button.
To view more information about a Glassware app, tap or click its app card. A new window opens, displaying detailed information about the app. In the bottom-left corner of the window, you also see the permissions and Glass resources that the app requires.
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