Google Glass Gets Banned In Advance By Seattle Bar

Google Glass, the new wearable computer from Google, hasn’t been released yet but it has already been banned by a bar in Seattle.

The 5 Point Cafe posted a message on Facebook this week saying that no one wearing a pair of Google Glasses would be allowed inside the bar.

The bar wrote on Facebook: “For the record, The 5 Point is the first Seattle business to ban in advance Google Glasses. And [butt] kickings will be encouraged for violators. The 5 Point appeals to a wide variety of people,” says Meinert. “Some of the tech geeks come here, we’re close by Amazon […] It’s OK if you wear them. I just don’t want them worn inside.”

The 5 Point Cafe may be the first establishment to ban the futuristic product but it may not be the last. The product has been criticized by some for being a constant assault on privacy. Some argue that the glasses, which come equipped with a camera, will change the way people behave because they will be worried about being filmed.

The 5 Point Cafe doesn’t have the most stellar reputation and the establishment doesn’t want it’s clientele to have to worry about having a tech witness.

Owner Dave Meinert said: “You have to understand the culture of The 5 Point which is a sometimes seedy, maybe notorious place and I think people want to go there and be not known,” says Meinert, who says patrons of The 5 Point certainly don’t want to be secretly videotaped… Part of this is a joke, to be funny on Facebook and get a reaction, but part of it is serious because we don’t let people film other people or take photos unwanted of other people in the bar because it’s kind of a private place people go.”

What do you think of Google Glass? Will they change the way people behave?

Here’s a video of what the Google Glass experience may be like.

There’s no official release date for the product yet but Google said that they should be available by the end of 2013. Google Glass is expected to cost more than $1000 so the issue of privacy may not be too serious at first. But what happens when the price for Google Glass drops and the product becomes as common as a cellphone? Do you think Google Glass will be banned from more establishments?