Olympics2012
Latest
Sony unveils Meb Keflezighi Edition Walkman W Series, fills it with the marathoner's coaching wisdom
NBC may have retired its Olympic spirit by repurposing its dedicated app, but Sony's sporting fever hasn't broken, as its just announced the Meb Keflezighi Edition Walkman W Series. A special edition orange hue graces the third-time Olympic marathoner's device and, like the other players in the line, it features a water resistant design, a quick-charge mode and an eight hour battery life when fully juiced. Twenty-four minutes of audio coaching by Meb himself are preloaded into the player's 2GB memory, which is estimated to store roughly 470 songs. Eager to hear the athlete's dulcet tones as you pound the pavement? You can pick up the player for $69.99 at Sony's online and brick-and-mortar stores, or wait until October for its arrival at Walmart.
Hit the rapids with Google's latest Olympic doodle
It's time to pound the arrow keys again for Mountain View's latest Olympic doodle game, a whitewater slalom canoe challenge. The idea is to speed through the course with the left/right keys in the best time while using up/down to avoid rocks and the riverbank. Our intrepid web paddlers managed a time of 18 seconds so far, and you can post your own time in the comments below -- if you dare.
Google keeps the interactive Olympic doodles going, tests your spacebar with a game of hoops
If your keyboard survived yesterday's track & field test, the folks in Mountain View have posted another interactive doodle to satisfy your Olympic dreams. This time around, you can give arcarde-style basketball your best shot by tapping on your spacebar to get into a rhythm from the charity stripe. Once you hit that blue play button, you'll have 24 seconds to give the main search page your best Kevin Durant. A chance for Google+ bragging rights awaits your fingers via the source link below.
Google's Olympic doodles get interactive with button-mashing hurdles
Google has already churned out quite a few of its trademark doodles for the Olympics, but it's upped its game considerably today for its depiction of the hurdles. Pressing that red play button on the search engine's front page will let you test your Track & Field skills (and your keyboard's sturdiness) in an interactive event -- one where you can, naturally, also share your results on Google+ when you're finished. Hit the source link below to give it a go yourself.
Data-hungry crowds spoil Olympic TV coverage, archers alerted
With an opening ceremony celebrating social media and a guest appearance by the father of the world wide web, you would think the games are pretty Twitter-friendly. Well, not so much, as the hordes of London have been told to keep non-urgent texts and tweets to themselves to avoid disrupting TV coverage for those who weren't lucky enough to score beach volleyball tickets. The recommendation comes after broadcasters bumbled through the men's cycling road race due to a lack of available data from the cyclists' GPS. The information bottleneck appears to be related to one specific network and sharing the data burden has been discussed, although probably not via Twitter. The IOC knows that telling the masses not to log on likely won't have any impact -- so, what's next for the data haters.
Remote camera mounts replace AFP photographers at Olympic Games
Remember those robotic camera rigs Reuters cooked up for the Olympic games? They won't be alone -- the AFP have lined the games with their own remote mounts. Traditionally, aerial shots are captured by brave, well harnessed photographers -- but the AFP's acrobatic photojournalists have been grounded by the powers that be. "The Olympics Committee has warned us that, for security reasons, no photographer will be allowed on the stadium roof," stated the AFP's chief editor of technical issues, Francois-Xavier Marit. "We had to come up with a system of remote-controlled photography." Marit worked with Nikon and Mark Roberts Motion Control to build a dozen rigs to pepper throughout Olympic facilities. It's not Marit's first time kitting out the games either -- he's been using remote camera rigs to snap underwater Olympians since 2004. Each mount is equipped with a Nikon D4 and 16 to 400mm zooms, ten will be mounted in the main Olympic stadium with an additional two covering the swimming complex. Worried you won't be able to see the hardware from the bleachers? Mosey on past the break for a quick preview.
Going to the London Olympics? Here are the transport apps you'll need
The London 2012 Olympics officially start in just under two weeks. From July 27th until August 12th millions of combined spectators, journalists, and the world's fittest athletes will descend upon the greatest city on the planet. During that time Transport for London estimates that there will be an extra four million visitors to the city. To put that in perspective, that's adding over 50% to the capital's normal population of 7.5 million. In addition, TFL estimates that up to one million extra people per day will be using London's transport systems. What does that mean? Chaos, basically (and a huge pain for the people who live here). But if you're going to be one of the four million visitors there is some hope. You can stock up on London's best transport apps that will help you navigate the city. Since I moved to London in 2007 I've tried virtually every London transportation app. In the list that follows, I've narrowed down the single best app from each category: tube, bus, car, bicycle, and boat. Tube: Tube Map Pro Hands down, Tube Map Pro by mxData Ltd is the best tube app out there. The app uses officially licensed maps from Transport for London that allows users to easily see an overview of the entire transport network and find out how to quickly get from one point to another. Besides maps and route planning, the app uses GPS to show you the closest station to you, features live departure boards, and lets you track the balance of your Oyster card (the Tube's ticketing system) right in the app. If you're visiting London, Tube Map Pro is the single best app purchase you can make. Tube Map Pro is discounted to US$0.99 in honor of the games. The app is universal, so it works on both the iPhone and iPad. mxData also has a free, ad-supported version of the app called Tube Map. Bus: London Bus Checker After the Tube, the mode of transport most visitors will be taking is the bus. London's bus network is excellent, and many times it's faster that the tube (when you take walking to stations into account). The best London bus app I've found is London Bus Checker by FatAttitude. The single best thing about this app is it lets you see, in real-time, when the next bus you need to catch is coming. If, for instance, your bus stop is around the corner you can check the app to see if the #55 is two minutes away and you need to run to make it, or if it's 10 minutes away and you can mosey on over at your own pace. Among the many other features, the app also offers stop alerts so you know when you're approaching your stop and lets you see full route maps for London's entire bus network. London Bus Checker is $2.99. It's also a universal app, so it works on both the iPhone and iPad. Car: Park-Up - London Parking Let me just say this right now: if you are planning to drive in the city during the London Olympics, you are crazy. Period. You'll spend more time sitting in traffic then you will seeing all the sights London has to offer. That being said, I'm sure there will be some people who will still think that driving is the way to go. In that case, iOS's Maps app is the best route planner for your transportation needs. However, just because Maps can get you there, it doesn't mean you'll actually find a place to park. That's where Park-Up's London Parking comes in. The app tracks over 10,000 places to park in central London, from single street parking bays to entire car parks and parking garages. What's really nice about the app is that you can view what kind of parking space it is before you get there. Tapping on any parking location will show you the hours and costs, and, if available, the number of spaces, height restrictions, and security arrangements. Park-Up London Parking is $4.99. It's also a universal app, so it works on both the iPhone and iPad. Boat: KPMG Thames Clippers A great way to get from one side of London to the other is by boat. The Thames is full of clipper ships that ferry people up and down the river. Many times, if you have to travel a long distance, this is actually the best way to go. Using KPMG Thames Clippers by Seligman Ventures, users can enter their start and destination piers and view the official timetables from Thames Clippers. Do note, however, that these time tables are not updated in real time. KPMG Thames Clippers is a free app for iPhone. Bicycle: Barclays Bikes Compared to cities in the US, London is extremely bike friendly (though it does have some catching up to do with its European neighbors). Chances are you won't be bringing your bicycle to London, but that shouldn't stop you from cycling around the city (which is probably the best, fastest, and funnest way to not only get around the capital, but to see it as well). Barclays Bank has a cycle hire program with the city. The program installed thousands of bicycles at spots around the capital that anyone can use. The first half-hour is free, and after that charges are relatively cheap. If you are going to be hiring Barclays cycles, you'll want to download the official Barclays Bikes app. The app shows you where the closest cycling docking terminal is, lets you calculate the cost of how much a bike hire will be (based on the time you plan to have it), and lets you plan your cycling route based on places, postcodes, or address. And the best thing about the app is it not only shows you how close the nearest cycling docking station is, but it also shows you how many bicycles are available at that station. Barclays Bikes is a free app for iPhone. Everything: Citymapper - London Transport All of the above apps are excellent for their chosen mode of transportation. But what if you want to get from one place to another and choose your mode of transportation based on time or cost? That's where Citymapper - London Transport by Citymapper Inc. comes in. The developers call the app a "Super Router" and boy, are they right! Just enter your start and end locations and Citymapper shows you a list of all your transport options including walking, cycling, bus, tube, rail, and cab. For each option, they also show you how much the journey will cost (or for cycling and walking, calories burned) and also how long the trip will take. Citymapper does note that the app is still in beta, but in my tests it works quite well. Citymapper - London Transport is a free app for iPhone. Check out screenshots from each app below and drop me a line in the comments if there's a London transport app you love that I didn't list. %Gallery-160395%
Reuters cooks up remote camera rigs for 2012 Olympics, mounts them where humans can't tread
Sure, the 2012 Olympics may be gearing up for HD, 3D and even Super Hi-Vision broadcasts, but that doesn't mean still photography has lost its appeal. In fact, Reuters photographers Fabrizio Bensch and Pawel Kopczynski are taking Olympic photography to the next level, perching remote-controlled camera rigs in stadium rafters. The system, which the duo has been developing since 2009, can turn, adjust focus and receive commands wirelessly. Once stills are snapped, they're sent to an editing system and then off to distribution. The team is spending more than 12 hours a day installing the cams at different Olympic venues before the games kick off on July 27th. In the meantime, you can sprint to the source for photos of the setup.
BMW's i Pedelec hitches lift (and top-up) from plug-in i3 electric car
The i Pedelec electric bike has just been given a range boost -- in a way. BMW's created a new concept version of its i3 electric vehicle, which dedicates the rear half of the car to housing a pair of BMW's fold-up cycles. When docked inside the vehicle, the bikes can be recharged, although the car maker hasn't released specifics on how many charges the electric car prototype can dole out. With a top speed of 16 mph and a range of up to 25 miles (depending on the amount of assistance needed), around 200 of these i Pedelecs will join BMW's vehicle fleet for next month's Olympics in London. While there's no sight of pricing for high-earning cyclists in need of some electric oomph, the prototype car will set eco road-warriors back around $56,000.
Samsung Galaxy S III owners to get free Olympics livestream from Eurosport
New owners of the Olympic's official smartphone that missed out on Samsung's initial ticket giveaway still have a chance to catch plenty of the action live. Eurosport has announced that it'll be offering a free month of access to its streaming app for Galaxy S III owners -- as long as you're a resident in one of the participating European countries. (Hint: it's most of 'em, aside from Italy). Free access can be activated from July 14th and will last through August 12th. You can, however, grab the Eurosport app before the Olympics kick off by hitting the source below.
Samsung and Visa join forces to enable NFC mobile payment at 2012 Olympics
From a gadgeteer's point of view, one of the best things about the Olympics is its tendency to bring in new technologies to the hosting city. Take the 2012 games, for example: not only are the London Underground stations getting WiFi hotspots, but news has it that Samsung and Visa are holding hands to deliver NFC mobile payment solutions to the city. In fact, more than 60,000 locations in London are already geared up with contactless payment systems, and right now Visa is negotiating with banks to get its contactless cards and mobile phones approved. For the latter, one such device will be Samsung's Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile handset that comes with a Visa-enabled SIM card, and it'll be made available to sponsored athletes as well as various retailers. Furthermore, this alliance will continue after the Olympics, and Visa is rolling out its mobile payment system in many other countries as we speak, so it shouldn't be long before we hear more Visa handset announcements.
