beijing olympics
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A health-monitoring app for Olympic attendees reportedly has glaring security issues
Researchers said passport details, voice audio and other data are vulnerable in the MY2022 app.
GestureTek and Xpletive showcase 3D interactive exhibit
It's hard to say how soon GestureTek and Xpletive's latest concoction will have a real impact on the at-home 3D market, but guests at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing were able to experience flight over Vancouver (the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics) via the B.C. Explorer. The so-called immersive display was used to promote the upcoming Games and stimulate interest in British Columbia, and it enabled onlookers to step into a curved panoramic projection dome and virtually fly over one of Canada's most popular locales. Along the way, users could use gestures to pull back and watch full-screen HD movies of certain points of interest. The two firms are hoping to deploy five kiosks over the next year, though they're being awful quiet about specific applications right now.
SES ASTRA tardily trumpets 12 channels of HD Olympics across Europe
There's nothing here that wasn't apparent already, but SES ASTRA is just now getting around to boasting about a dozen HD channels that it's hosting to broadcast the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ready for an exhaustive list? The channels broadcasting the Olympics in HD include for the UK, BBC HD, for France, France 2 HD and CANAL+ HD, for Germany, ANIXE HD, for Poland, TVP HD, for the Slovak Republic, STV3, for the Netherlands, 1 HD, for Belgium een HD, for Spain, TELEDEPORTE HD, for Sweden, Viasat HD and SVT HD and for Austria, ORF HD. So yeah, if you somehow missed this for the first week of the Games, at least you're clued in now.[Image courtesy of Beijing 2008]
Olympic battleground rewards appear on European and Chinese servers
Despite the extensive problems and human violations rights perpetuated by the Chinese government, some in service of the Olympic games themselves, most of the world seems to content to settle in and watch the Beijing Olympics one way or another. Apparently, that attitude has spread to Blizzard itself. Currently on the European and Chinese servers, there are NPCs at each major Battlemaster area in the capital cities who proclaim that Battlegrounds are hosting some type of "Spirit of Competition." For simply participating in a battleground, you are sent a Competitor's Tabard, which features 4 multi-colored rings on a white background, a clear reference to the Olympics itself. If you win a battleground during this time period, you may also have a chance at receiving a gold medal which summons a spirit of competition, which looks like a small Chinese dragon according to tipster Ichthallus. This competition does not appear to be live on the US Servers, nor has anyone from Blizzard spoken up to reveal if it ever will be as of this writing. We'll have to watch and see what happens. As Blizzard does not appear to be an official Olympic partner, there is some concern from some quarters that this could simply be a copyright issue. It's also possible that this was meant to be a Chinese servers only event, and it only accidentally got onto the EU servers. Thanks to everyone who sent us tips on this! EDIT: Belfaire has confirmed that this event will be coming to US and Oceanic servers starting at Midnight server time. Thanks to those who let us know in the comments!
Shipping this week: Time machine edition
When you scan the new 360 releases this week, you may feel a sense of déjà vu. "Unreal Tournament III," you will say, "didn't that come out eight months ago?" Fear not, however, for your eyes do not deceive you. The Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III has finally released, bereft of user created content though it may be. Presenting us with another trip back in time is Civilization Revolution, which has players building their ... civilizations from ancient times all the way into the space age. If you haven't given the demo a try, we suggest you do. It's good fun. Finally, we have Beijing Olympics 2008. We're guessing that one involves a lot of button mashing and stick twirling. You'd best prepare for the calluses now.[Via Joystiq]
