Archive for the ‘In the Press’ Category

A pair of Italian sunglasses belonging to the late John Lennon are to be sold at Auction on 9^th August, which according to the Guardian may fetch up to £4,000.

Lennon gave the glasses to his uncle one day whilst enjoying the sunshine at his home in Surrey. His uncle had the glasses authenticated, along with some other items belonging to Lennon, before passing them on to a friend before he passed away more than 10 years ago.

A pair of ‘granny’ glasses belonging to Lennon were also sold at auction in 2007, with an estimated value of £1 million. The auction house that auctioned the glasses refused to divulge what the buyer paid for them.

Experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing a new type of glasses, which have been labelled the ‘social x-ray glasses’, due to their ability to read and interpret people’s facial expressions.

They were initially designed to help sufferers of autism, who struggle to read emotions and have difficulties with communication and interpersonal skills.

An article on www.pcworld.co.uk explains how the glasses work: ‘The glasses are built with a rice-grain-size camera wired to a tiny computer and can track 24 feature points of facial expression.’

‘The linked computer scans the micro-expressions to gauge how often they appear and for how long, while comparing the data with a bank of expressions.’

‘The glasses relay a summarized version of emotional information to the user through an earpiece, telling the user the subject’s emotional state.’

So far, tests have shown the glasses to be accurate 64% of the time, but this is expected to improve following further testing and development.

Read the extended article on www.newscientist.com by clicking here.

A man in the US has had his sight fully restored after 55 years of blindness in one eye, according to an article by the BBC.

Now 63, the article explains that the man suffered retinal detachment when he was just 8 years old, following an accident in which he was hit in the eye with a stone.

Despite living with partial vision for 55 years, the man eventually sought medical attention as a result of pain and redness in his eye. Doctors were unsure if the man’s sight could be restored, but the eye reacted well to cleaning and treatment to prevent new blood vessels from forming.

The decision was then made to attempt retinal reattachment, following which; the man was able to see again.

To read the full article, click here.

A British professor has invented a pair of self-adjusting glasses, which he hopes to send to 200 million children throughout developing countries.

Professor Joshua Silver told The Observer that he began designing the glasses 20 years ago as a hobby in his spare time, and he has now been shortlisted for the 2011 European Inventor award.

Silver is working with the World Bank and the Dow Corning Corporation, the company that produces the silicone materials used in the lenses, in order to make his hopes a reality.

The self-adjusting spectacles ‘have “adaptive lenses”, which consist of two thin membranes separated by silicone gel. The wearer simply looks at an eye chart and pumps in more or less fluid to change the curvature of the lens, which adjusts the prescription’, says the article.

Despite the brilliance of this invention, the professor still has a few hurdles to overcome. He admits that the glasses are not very fashionable, and understands that stylistic alterations will need to be made if teenagers are going to wear them.

Manufacturing costs are also a concern, as each pair of glasses currently cost £15 to produce. Silver hopes to reduce this cost to just £1 per pair, which he believes will be more ‘practicable’.

Read the full article here.

The BBC has written an article about the use of 3D glasses in helping to defeat Hitler during World War ll.

It describes how ‘a team of World War II experts disrupted Nazi plans to bombard Britain’, by using a Victorian invention called the stereoscope, a pair of glasses that allowed the British to look at aerial photographs and see the enemy landscape in 3D.

This enabled the photographic identifiers to measure the height of rockets and their launch sites, and then attack these sites, limiting the German’s attack capabilities on the UK.

How’s that for a spec-tacular achievement!

To see the full article with photographs, click here.

A US based online glasses merchant has pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud, and is facing court in September for his behaviour towards his customers, according to www.consumeraffairs.com.

He allegedly shouted abuse at customers and threatened those that complained about his service, later admitting that he acted this way so that angry customers would complain about him in online forums.

In doing this, they were in fact helping to raise the profile of his business, as the more people mentioned the company’s name, the higher up it would appear in a Google search, therefore improving search engine optimisation (SEO) and driving more traffic to his web site.

The article then provides Google’s reaction to his claim, saying, ‘Google announced it was changing its algorithm so that sites would not benefit from bad behaviour’. He is now awaiting sentence and could face up to 6 years in prison.

Here at best4glasses, customer service and satisfaction is our priority. We want you to be happy with your purchase, and have only positive things to say about us.

If we do receive a complaint, we will use the feedback to improve our service, and do our best to make the situation right.

So if you ever have an issue or concern, then please get in touch… we promise we won’t bite!

A London cabbie has launched an online campaign to petition against the use of extra bright headlights; called xenon lights, being used by drivers in the UK.

The dazzling ‘white’ headlights often leave other drivers unable to see clearly, increasing the risk of accidents at night and even causing damage to the eye.

Geoff Roberson, Professional Adviser at the Association of Optometrists (AOP) says: “It’s a balancing act around light contrast. Ironically, what is good for the driver who has HID* headlights – better illumination of the road ahead – is not so good for other road users because of increased glare problems. A driver who is dazzled by HID* headlights may be distracted, experience discomfort and not see as well. The increased glare means that drivers may find it more difficult to see pedestrians and cyclists on the road.”

best4glasses offers anti-reflective coating on lenses to cut out the glare from headlights and street lamps, and sharpen the images of objects ahead within the field of vision. These lenses are available for an extra £30, up to 50% cheaper than high street opticians.

For more information about our service, have a look at the night driving glasses page.

You can also find out more about the Lightmare petition at www.lightmare.org

*HID – High Intensity Discharge

An article on the Mail Online reveals that a company in the US has finished the12-year development of the world’s first pair of electronic bifocal glasses, with a starting price of £1,200.

The glasses can run for two to three days before needing to be recharged, and the wearer can set them to automatic, manual on or manual off, depending on the level of control they wish to have.

The lenses are said to contain a thin layer of liquid crystal that when prompted, changes its alignment and alters the strength of focus, making the glasses the first electronic focusing lenses in the world.

This optical advancement is a great development for the industry, but with a hefty price tag like that; it may be some time before the glasses hit the mainstream.

To view the full article, visit the Mail Online by clicking here.

An article featured in the health pages of the Mail Online reports an increase in the presence of cataracts in under 50’s, with estimates that ‘as many as one in seven’ could be suffering from the condition – without even knowing it.

According to the article, ‘blurred sight, poor night-vision and washed out colours’ are problems for numerous middle-aged people; but many are failing to realise they have cataracts, assuming their symptoms are part of growing older and not signs of a serious problem.

Early detection is crucial in preventing sight deterioration, which in most cases will lead to complete loss of vision. The Mail Online reports that roughly ‘300,000 people had cataract operations on the NHS last year’, and although just over half of these were the ‘typical’ over 75 patients, an alarming number were noticeably younger.

What causes cataracts?

Age – With age, biological changes occur within the lens causing it to gradually become opaque
Trauma - Trauma is the most common form of cataracts in the young, as a result of blunt or lacerating injury, infrared energy or electric shock
Diabetes – Diabetes can produce cataracts. In diabetics, age related cataracts develop earlier and are more progressive than in non-diabetics
Drugs - Several drugs can cause cataracts, especially steroids.
Genetics – Cataracts can run in families and are passed on genetically from one generation to the next.

Heavy drinking and smoking also increase the risk of developing cataracts.

For more information, have a look at the ‘eye diseases’ section of our website.

To read the original article, visit the Mail Online by clicking here.

A recent survey of 1,200 online customers by car insurance firm Swinton reveals that 34% of those surveyed have not had an eye test in over four years.

The shocking figures have prompted Swinton to warn drivers about the importance of regular eye tests, as failure to do so was breaking the law, and could lead to motorists having their licence revoked.

Insurance development manager, Steve Chelton explains, “Motorists who drive with poor eyesight also increase their chances of having an accident, which will lead to costly car insurance claims and a possible increase in future car insurance premiums.”

It seems the easiest way to avoid the issue is to book an appointment and have an eye test. After all, it’s probably been a while…

*www.best4glasses.co.uk recommends a thorough eye test or examination at least every 2 years; but don’t forget, once you have your prescription you don’t have to buy your glasses from the same optician that made the prescription.