Editing 1251: Anti-Glass

{{comic
| number    = 1251
| date      = August 14, 2013
| title     = Anti-Glass
| image     = anti_glass.png
| titletext = 'Why don't you just point it at their eye directly?' 'What is this, 2007?'
}}

==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]] makes an attachment for eyeglasses which shines a laser light at people using {{w|Google Glass}}. The quote "The best defense is an indiscriminate offense" plays off the adage "{{w|The best defense is a good offense}}". Black Hat's goal seems to be to interfere with the Google Glass user potentially recording the person with the laser, and possibly blinding Google Glass users, undermining the project. By mailing one to the children of every Google executive, who are likely to be Google Glass users, he's clearly aiming to disrupt the entire Google Glass project. "Silicon Valley" is a term for the southern San Francisco Bay Area where many technologically up-to-date people live who are more likely to work in the computer industry and use Google Glass.

The "viral marketing campaign" excuse seems to play off how battery-powered LED placards were mistaken for terrorism in the {{w|2007 Boston bomb scare}}. He pretends that his terrorism is actually a viral marketing campaign, but seems to have not thought this excuse through. He then tries to get them to look into a laser light.

The title text shows the irony between Black Hat's needlessly complicated technical solution, and his apparent hate of Google Glass, a relatively new technology. In addition, he remarks that he wouldn't do something as old-fashioned as shining a laser in peoples' eyes, as this does not live up to his technical expertise.

However, he could shine a laser through the peephole, which would have the same effect on the police officers.

It seems generally that [[Randall]] is no fan of Google Glass, which was also shown later in [[1304: Glass Trolling]]. It was the second time they are mentioned in xkcd after [[1215: Insight]], but this was the first direct mocking of people wearing these glasses. Google Glass has become a [[:Category:Google Glass|recurring theme]] in xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Two police officers stand outside an apartment door. The male officer is bald (and half cut of by the left frame of this thin panel), and the other is Ponytail, both are wearing peaked caps with white emblem. Ponytail is holding a pair of glasses down in one hand. The glasses have a small white box with a smaller tip in the front attached to one of the frames. A person (turns out to be Black Hat) answers through the door which has a peephole.]
:Ponytail: Police. Open up. 
:Ponytail: Did you make this glasses attachment?
:Black Hat (off-panel through door): Oh, yeah.

:[Black Hat is sitting in an office chair at his laptop with his back to the door. The door is not visible but the officers voices come through it off-panel from the left.]
:Ponytail (off-panel): What's it do?
:Black Hat: It detects when someone near you is wearing Google Glass and shines a laser pointer at their eyepiece.
:Ponytail (off-panel): Why??
:Black Hat: The best defense is an indiscriminate offense.

:[Cut back a frame-less panel with a wider view of the two officers outside the apartment so the male officer is not cut off.]
:Male officer: It seems you've mailed these devices to people across Silicon Valley, including the children of every Google executive.
:Black Hat (off-panel through door): Yeah. It's a viral marketing campaign for an upcoming movie.

:[Same scene but with frame around the panel.]
:Male officer: What movie?
:Black Hat: Haven't decided yet. Anything good coming out this fall?
:Male officer: Sir, open the door.
:Black Hat: First stare at the peephole for a sec.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Google Glass]]