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[–] 89 points 3 months ago (1 child)

Now, Google alternative DuckDuckGo, a company that has long attempted to actively distance itself from Big Tech, has come up with a genius new product that’s guaranteed not to spark controversy: a pair of plastic, non-pervert glasses that lack any electronics whatsoever.

The company partnered with sunglasses maker Knockaround to create the “world’s most innovative anti-surveillance sunglasses,” or “Normal F***ing Sunglasses.”

Would I call them non-pervert glasses? Maybe. Would I call them anti-pervert glasses? No, that is a word i'd use for glasses that work like the Freedom Shield: https://github.com/nickbild/freedom_shield

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago*

    Im very new to circuitry, only getting into it about a month ago as I stumble through rgh3 on a 360, but I'm learning it as quickly as I learn anything with physical and tactile properties.

    Soft Circuits made from laminate on copper foil would be easy enough to make anchor points to solder the LED to that can be stitched to fabrics without damaging the circuitry. Using the smaller LEDs he mentioned, braided wires, and a jumper to connect a battery pack, you'd easily be able to wear this basically everywhere.

    Get a denim jacket, run the wiring along or even inside of the fold over seam that's iconic in denim, I don't know what the coverage of the lights are, but that could be figured out easily, then you just space the lights along each seam. Same for jeans and a hat. Alternative, a mechanics jump suit with hood and go full head to toe. You could even use jumpers by the neck and waist to attach hat and pants to the jacket circuit so you only have to have one battery pack.

    Using the DIY soft circuit, you could make every piece of this at home with a laminator, scissors, and sewing kit, but I'd hazard to say a cricket cutter would make it easier. Hit up your nearest craft fair and there's bound to be a goblin that can do this in a week with a cool jacket from a thrift store.

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  • [–] 72 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    Thought these were funny and went to buy a pair only to be met with this

    Checkout where $1.23 add-on is the default option. The company is free to take your $35 and run if you opt out of having your transaction information shared with advertisers

    "Free" returns & package protection (the bare minimum for an online purchase) is behind a $1.23 paywall, to which you then have to agree to ANOTHER companies Privacy Policy & T&C, which state they'll sell your transaction info to advertisers. Kinda defeats the bit IMHO

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  • [–] 27 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    This is because credit cards are extremely insecure (by design) and anyone with half a brain outsources that risk to another company

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  • [–] 24 points 3 months ago

    DDG reinvented the sunglasses. Genius.

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  • [–] 17 points 3 months ago (7 children)

    I was hoping they used an IR emitter to blow out any cameras pointed at you.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago (6 children)

    That won't really work. Modern cameras all have IR filters with the exception of security and trail cameras.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    I took this picture of my office's TV remote with my Samsung phone just now. You can see the IR just fine.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Your phone camera is seeing the overspill in other frequencies of light the LED is producing. Many remotes have an filter to hide those frequecies.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago*

    I'm not at the house right now, but my phone camera also sees the IR LEDs on my game camera, on my security cameras, and more.

    I also have a filter that looks black to the naked eye that only lets IR through (it's used on my underwater camera strobes for my mirrorless cameras that do have minus-IR filters for triggering remote strobes), and my phone can see light coming through it that my eyes cannot.

    What has changed on phone cameras is the crystal lenses let less of the IR that triggered the green sensors, so it tends to have more of a magenta hue these days where it used to look white on older cameras.

    It's also why some outdoor RAW shots on modern phones have a purple-ish tint - especiallyif there'sa lens flare from the sun. They're picking up extra IR light on the red and blue sensors, but not the green.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    On the other hand, if you introduce a high power IR laser...

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  • [–] 17 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Are they too similar to the meta Ray-Pervs? IF so does that just normalize wearing the meta abominations?

    I appreciate that this is a marketing effort for DDG, and the people wearing the meta Ray-Pervs deserve every bit of mockery they get.

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  • [–] 30 points 3 months ago (12 children)

    How decidedly retro of them! Next they'll sell watches you actually have to wind up every day to keep time!

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  • [–] 16 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    Actually, there are completely mechanical self-winding watches. They'll never need a battery as long as you wear them occasionally.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    I went this route a year or so ago. Wait, that was three years ago now? I should have never checked.

    I've owned a few smart watches over the years and got tired of things failing. Bands splitting (remember the Microsoft band?), batteries degrading, cases splitting due to swollen batteries, etc.

    The only downside is that straight analog watches will drift some over long enough time periods, so you will occasionally need to adjust them by a minute or two.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 months ago (5 children)

    I'd settle for a phone that's just a phone

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  • [–] 16 points 3 months ago (4 children)
  • [–] 13 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    Oh come on, at least post a picture of a good one. 1989 Swatch Phone:

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  • [–] 12 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Haven't sunglasses ALWAYS been used by pervs to obscure their eyeline?

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  • [–] 9 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    How do you install software updates?

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  • [–] 18 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    Technically not not The Onion?

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    Meta's "Controversial" Smart Glasses...

    What a euphemisim.

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  • 54 comments in c/technology@lemmy.world view that post
    [–] 43 points 3 months ago (6 children)

    I have only read the title but this just seems like.. Normal glasses then?

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  • [–] 23 points 3 months ago (4 children)

    Yep. Just normal, AliBaba sunglasses.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    Probably more expensive than AliBaba. Which might or might not mean better quality.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (1 child)

    https://knockaround.com/pages/warranty-policy

    More expensive, still pretty cheap, and they have a lifetime warranty which is more than you'll ever get from alibaba

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

    Iʻve been buying Knockaround glasses for years. Theyʻre not owned by Essilor-Luxottica and have pretty great quality that has improved over the years. Only reason Iʻve had to buy new glasses from them was either due to theft or loss.

    EDIT to make the conglomerateʻs name accurate and not sound like itʻs co-owned by Aragorn using his kingly name

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  • [–] 41 points 3 months ago (4 children)

    So it’s not anti-pervert then. It’s just non-pervert.

    Anti-pervert would be something like sunglasses that zap the pervert sunglasses' cameras with lasers and damage the sensor. Maybe they don’t have to be so accurate.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    There are infrared reflecting glasses that blind cameras.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    Maybe a sort of anti pervert mesh network where gamma radiation is fired in the direction of whoever wears pervert glasses and eventually kills them with cancer.

    It’s incredibly irresponsible and would have unintended consequences for otherwise innocent people but it would technically work so capitalism says ship it before China does!

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  • [–] 20 points 3 months ago* (2 children)

    The real move would be to include polarized lenses or a holographic coating to block infrared facial ID cameras like Flock. Because most sunglasses don’t block the infrared spectrum, meaning something like a Flock camera can see right through them.

    These are basically just a dad joke, based on the fact that meta has made every other pair of sunglasses “anti-pervert sunglasses” by default.

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  • [–] 14 points 3 months ago

    “No camera, no microphone, no AI, no battery, no electronics of any kind,” Knockaround boasts on its website. “Just a beautifully crafted pair of matte black sunglasses with a glossy DuckDuckGo logo, designed to block the sun and never send data to the cloud

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  • [–] 60 points 3 months ago (5 children)

    Sooooo not anti-pervert and a generic publicity stunt. Haha please laugh etc. Don't have anything against DDG but can only roll my eyes at something like this

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  • [–] 0 points 3 months ago

    Fair - it's marketing.
    But it's good marketing - lambasts a stupid thing that people dislike to promote a product that is selling the opposite (privacy).
    Good goal, and the marketing is clearly working here we are talking about it.

    Also DDG browser is awesome on mobile and Windows. Blocks many ads and trackers, even on YT. Lightweight, wicked fast, offers not only private search but private AI chat.

    Use DDG Because Gemini is SUPER creepy when it inserts personal info in unrelated questions. It keeps inserting my family details in answering unrelated questions now... Like a perv.

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  • [–] 11 points 3 months ago

    I wish DDG defaulted to their no ai search.

    If they want to make silly little jokes about “the other guys and their ai” then maybe don’t use ai shit as your default search option on your own platform?

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago* (4 children)

    Meanwhile, I recently got new prescription glasses (after wearing my previous pairs for way too long, BTW) and got some that have an IR-blocking coating that's supposed to block face recognition cameras. Because that apparently needs to be a thing these days.

    (I'm disappointed that these DuckDuckGo glasses don't have a similar special coating. I like the company I got mine from, but I'd like to see more companies offering privacy-enhancing tech.)

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    What, no company names to help out a fella?

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago* (2 children)

    I didn't want to give the appearance of shilling. But if you want to know, it's https://www.zennioptical.com/id-guard

    There are apparently also similar products from "Reflectacles" and "Vaydr," but they were more expensive and/or not normal prescription glasses. The Zenni thing is just an extra coating you can add on to the glasses you would have otherwise bought anyway (which is how I found out about it; I didn't know it existed beforehand).

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  • [–] 5 points 3 months ago

    Is this now not not not the onion?

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  • [–] 9 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    $39 is probably still a huge markup.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 months ago*

    there's no extra markup involved here for what is essentially a marketing thing.

    they're $35. which is also the price the 'normal' (not 'collab' edition) ones sell for direct on ka's web site or at retailers like rei.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago
    [–] 3 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    ...but does it have electrolytes?

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Sold out and I can't seem to pre-order a pair for their next batch (maybe the next allotment is already sold out).

    Oh well, my wallet wins this round.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago (5 children)

    "2. Only tech related news or articles."

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  • [–] 5 points 3 months ago (4 children)

    While the headline doesn't discuss it, the article begins with "Meta has opened Pandora’s box with its AI-infused smart sunglasses. The pricy accessory has sparked a heated debate over privacy, with unsavory individuals abusing the eyewear’s easily-missed cameras to harass unsuspecting strangers in public — garnering the specs the distinctly unflattering nickname of “pervert glasses.”"

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (3 children)

    "Zero AI, Cameras, or Even Electronics Whatsoever". but i conceded that manufacturing a lens and a frame qualifies as technology as far as i'm concerned

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (2 children)

    You have the reading comprehension of a toddler. The article is not about a pair of glasses, it’s about a tech company’s response to AI and surveillance, and how another company is irresponsibly using those things.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    Is DuckDuckGo going down the DBrand/Wendy's model of irreverent, self aware marketing? I'm pretty tired of it being honest. Also, are they actually trying to make money from this? A satirical social media post would get the point across. But they're actually selling these for some reason.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Some company just placed DDG logo on existing model of glasses and is selling them for exact same price as a joke. It's not like DDG started manufacturing glasses specifically for this joke.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago*

    You make it sound like DDG aren't involved at all. They very much are.

    It’s not like DDG started manufacturing glasses specifically for this joke.

    No, it's like DDG started selling glasses specifically for this joke.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago

    The reason is probably to garner as much brand awareness as possible bc the goal of marketing isn't to just get a point across. If a company like DDG can gain a good amount of brand awareness by advertising and selling some relatively inexpensive sunglasses with the company logo on it then I personally see it as a net positive.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    Glasses without electronics? Then how will I see!?!

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    Unperverted Glasses

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 8 points 3 months ago*

    Yeah, I love my ray-bans but I don't think I'll be buying another pair as long as they are making pervert glasses. I feel kinda gross wearing them, afraid people will think they are the pervert kind... kinda like wearing a red hat

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  • [–] 0 points 3 months ago
    [–] 0 points 3 months ago

    This is so stupid. Ddg thinks their users are dumb as fuck. I’m sure they’re right.

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