Mystery over for Google's Glass barges as Maine ship sold for scrap
Google's plan for a series of floating showrooms that would help consumers get to know -- and, ultimately, purchase -- its new Glass wearable platform appears to have sunk, as its East Coast constituent looks to be headed for a Maine scrapyard.

Google's low cost, super-sized floating retail strategy being assembled on a barge. | Photo: Daniel Eran Dilger
A Google-owned barge located in Portland, Maine, has been towed to a scrapyard in South Portland, according to the Portland Press Herald. The barge's upper-deck structure of cargo containers will reportedly be disassembled and sold as scrap before the barge itself is sent on to a new buyer.
"Bummer," Portland spokeswoman Jessica Grondin told the publication when asked about the barge's ignominious end. "I was hoping for something to come from this. Everybody was waiting to see what was actually going on."
Google's barges first became the subjects of speculation last October, when the multi-story structures were first spotted and connected to the search giant. Some believed them to be floating data centers, though they later turned out to be designed as showrooms for Google's new wearable projects.
Construction was forced to a halt in March of this year after Google failed to obtain the proper permits from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. It is unclear to what degree those legal quandaries affected the Maine barge, as its San Francisco sibling remains docked in the harbor.

Google's low cost, super-sized floating retail strategy being assembled on a barge. | Photo: Daniel Eran Dilger
A Google-owned barge located in Portland, Maine, has been towed to a scrapyard in South Portland, according to the Portland Press Herald. The barge's upper-deck structure of cargo containers will reportedly be disassembled and sold as scrap before the barge itself is sent on to a new buyer.
"Bummer," Portland spokeswoman Jessica Grondin told the publication when asked about the barge's ignominious end. "I was hoping for something to come from this. Everybody was waiting to see what was actually going on."
Google's barges first became the subjects of speculation last October, when the multi-story structures were first spotted and connected to the search giant. Some believed them to be floating data centers, though they later turned out to be designed as showrooms for Google's new wearable projects.
Construction was forced to a halt in March of this year after Google failed to obtain the proper permits from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. It is unclear to what degree those legal quandaries affected the Maine barge, as its San Francisco sibling remains docked in the harbor.
Comments
As far as Glass itself it's not anywhere near ready for general consumers IMO. Maybe Gen2 instead and use this version for the pros like doctors, techs, firemen, etc that are evaluating it.
Everybody = almost no one
Cart before the horse
Offshore so they wouldn't have to obey local gambling regulations or whatever.
Would have been far more interesting for customers and more profitable for Google.
Google doesn't look at the money they make as "earned" income. I don't know how else to explain their haphazard approach to "growing" their business.
Best
Funny. I thought the barges were going to be Google Casinos.
Offshore so they wouldn't have to obey local gambling regulations or whatever.
Would have been far more interesting for customers and more profitable for Google.
It is absolutely amazing how little analysts are writing about another waste of time and money Google has spent on these barges. If Apple did something like this, there would be no shortage of rage coming from nearly every analyst and would-be analyst in the world. Oh well. I will take the silence for Google and the noise for Apple as analysts really caring about what Apple does with its time and money!
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Just imagine: a card-counting Google Glass app...
Please, Google, take every Google Glass that you have ever made, all the r&d, everything to do with Glass, and put it on that barge.
Google Glass may not be a smashing success, but it does advance one area of technology. Wearables are still very new, everyone is still learning and researching. It would be a loss to wipe out all the time, money, research, and lessons learned from what Google has done.
There goes Google Island.
You try weird things some times it won't pan out. Some times it will.
Why doesn't Carl Icahn (or someone like him) show up at Google shareholder meetings asking about this boondoggle, funded by shareholder money?
Apple puts Dyson hand dryers in their restrooms and people ask, "Why?!"
Haha nice
It is absolutely amazing how little analysts are writing about another waste of time and money Google has spent on these barges. If Apple did something like this, there would be no shortage of rage coming from nearly every analyst and would-be analyst in the world. Oh well. I will take the silence for Google and the noise for Apple as analysts really caring about what Apple does with its time and money!
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A rising tide lifts all boats.
Except the Google Barge.