"Is there a particular reason the manual and the tools have to be a flight of stairs away from the technician? I'd wager that the comparison would lose some steam if the tech could just turn his head to the right."

I've never worked on planes, but quite a bit on cars and semi-trucks. You can get yourself into some tight spots. There may not be room to bring a manual with you, let alone turn your head to look at it. The closest I've had to glasses is bringing a smartphone to look at a manual or photos - but having it right on your had and hands free would be a huge help.

Yea, also notice how in the Glass wearing video the technician brings up the tools he needs and sets them on the floor whereas in the other video he sets each tool back and forth.

Pretty lame comparison.

Reminds me of the 401/Windex/etc. cleaning commercials where they compare "other cleaning products" with their own. It's all staged.

Could it be that the glasses also tell you which tools you'll need, allowing you to plan ahead, whereas the alternative is to fetch a tool when you need it?

Generally when you're doing shit like this you read the destructions first and grab the tools. That is if your destructions are good and actually list them and sizes which most aren't... Which wouldn't help if it was or wasn't in glass, that's a content problem not a form factor issue. I will say I'd rather bring these hardened devices in than get oil on my smart phone which is what I did last week.

I do like sticking my smart phone in holes to take photos there I can't otherwise get.

Edit: this is for personal automotive work