Google's Internet ‘Reality’ Glasses, Toyota Eyes Mountain View

Every week, Mountain View makes news with technology developments, discoveries and sometimes controversies.

In the weekly “Bits and Bytes” column we’ll relay the past week’s news highlights from our backyard giants, start-ups and small businesses alike.

Google offered a glimpse into the future of the Internet. After two years of development, people now have a view of the “Project Glass,” a pair of augmented reality eyewear, which reportedly allows a wearer to text, send e-mails, listen to music and much more, all beamed directly to a person’s field of vision and all voice activated. According to Google reps, the glasses won't be released for a while. However, you can get a sneak peek at all the glasses will allegedly be able to do in the YouTube video included with this article.

In other Google news, the search engine giant announced this week it will stop selling e-books through its online store. Google launched an online store in 2010, reportedly hoping to cut into Amazon’s market dominance, but some analysts say Google didn’t promote the service enough. Google’s digital publishing director, Scott Dougal, said the decision came because the store "didn’t gain the traction" the company had hoped it would.

Mountain View-based flash memory array manufacturer Violin Memory got some good news this week. The company announced $50 million in Series D funding, bringing the company’s total worth to $800 million. All of this comes just three years into the company’s relationship with CEO Don Basile. A press release issued Monday indicated the funding came from long-time partners Toshiba and Juniper Networks in addition to new investors SAP Ventures and Highland Capital Partners, among others. With this latest round, Violin continues to be one of the fastest-growing storage companies in the past decade.

On Monday, Mountain View-based eHealthInsurance—a leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses—announced its sponsorship of TheSelfEmployed.com, a new website providing business advice for professionals starting their own companies or freelancing or contracting for the first time. eHealthInsurance is partnering with Steve Strauss, USA Today's small business columnist, to co-sponsor the development and launch of the site. The company will publish helpful articles on a regular basis as a resource for self-employed professionals who are tackling the process of buying their own health insurance.

Toyota has announced plans to open a new office in Mountain View. An Associated Press article reports the company is reaffirming its commitment to centralize operations in North America with the hiring of 150 new engineers, researchers and others, which they will place in offices in Ann Arbor, Mich. and a potential new Mountain View office.