Google Glass Rooted at I/O 2013, Ubuntu Installed

Unlike most hardware manufacturers, Google is happy to let hackers root their devices, even Google Glass. Google will even show you how.

In a session at I/O 2013 titled "Voiding Your Warranty: Hacking Glass," Google [x] software engineers Hyunyoung Song and P.Y. Laligand demonstrated how to root Google Glass and install Ubuntu.

"Glass is ready for hacking! See what is possible with the hardware platform and how you can gain root access. Learn how to run your own experimental applications. Disclaimer: you'll be stepping into uncharted and unsupported territory!" said the session summary.

Song and Laligand rooted their own Glass device live in front of the audience. "The steps involve pushing some APKs (Launcher, Settings and Notepad) to the device using adb, then pairing Glass with a Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad. After this, it's possible to unlock the bootloader with fastboot and flash a new boot image to gain root access," Engadget writes. "Running Ubuntu requires a couple more apps to be installed, namely Android Terminal Emulator and Complete Linux Installer. The latter lets you download and boot your favorite linux distro (Ubuntu, in this case). You're then able to use SSH or VNC to access Ubuntu running right on Glass."

The existence of an official session at Google's own annual conference dedicated to hacking one of the company's most anticipated devices before it's even available to the public demonstrates Google's commitment to open access to information.

While that commitment has gotten the company into trouble occasionally, it does endear it to customers and developers, who make plenty of use of Google's free web apps and design skins and apps for Google's open-source Android operating system.

It's telling that such a large and powerful organization still engenders a great deal of loyalty and good will.

Check back for the latest news of Google Glass as it becomes available.