2010 Olympics

Will London 2012 be ‘The Green Olympics’? —

The Winter Olympics are over and amongst the medals and trouncing the US at hockey, Vancouver was praised for hosting the “greenest Olympics ever” with LEED certified buildings, the use of recaptured gas and the construction of a hydrogen highway. However, London looks set to raise the bar even higher with plans to blow Vancouver’s achievements out of the water in 2012. The London Olympic Authority have stated that they are aiming to make London 2012 the first sustainable Olympic Games, setting a precedent for future events.

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", green archtiectures, Green Building, green design, green events, hydrogen highway, London 2010 Olympics, london olympic games, Olympic stadium, sustainable design

It's no secret that tons of people are pretty damn upset with NBC's decisions to tape delay pretty much everything at the Olympics, in an era when everyone is used to real-time info. On top of that, most people recognize that it's not hard to simply go online to unauthorized sources to watch streams of the Olympics live. GigaOm's NewTeeVee put up a post over the weekend that explains how to view such unauthorized streams, and the site even titled the post: "Pirating the 2010 Winter Olympics." Given that this is all rather obvious, it shouldn't be a problem, right?

But, thanks to some screwed up court decisions that have forced secondary liability into copyright law, using an "inducement" standard, it's not hard to see how NBC could make a case against GigaOm for "inducing infringement," and therefore being liable for copyright infringement, potentially leading to a complete shutdown. Now, I hope that NBC Universal is smart enough not to take on this sort of fight, because it would backfire massively -- but, then again, we're talking about a company whose chief lawyer, Rick Cotton, is proud of how difficult NBC makes it to watch the Olympics, and believes that stomping out "piracy" is the key to saving the American farm.

So would NBC have a case? Well, compare what's written in the NewTeeVee article -- which (even with some disclaimers) explains exactly how to get unauthorized Olympics streams with the decision against Gary Fung in the IsoHunt case. In that case, the judge found inducement by Fung for statements that seemed a lot more innocuous than anything in the NTV article.

Now, GigaOm might have a fair use defense, in claiming that it's reporting, but a judge might challenge that, given the nature of the post itself -- and, certainly, we've been told over and over again by copyright holders (incorrecly, but... you know...) that fair use is not a right, just a defense.

Obviously, I think that GigaOm should be free to explain to people how unauthorized access to the Olympics works -- and I'm hoping that NBC Universal isn't so myopic as to go after the site for this post -- but in a world where secondary liability on third parties is "the law," posting anything like what NewTeeVee posted suddenly becomes a potential liability. This is yet another reason why we should be quite concerned with ACTA's intent to lock in this kind of problematic secondary liability on third parties.

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iPhone Apps For The Masses: 2010 Winter Olympics —

iPhone applications are no longer just toys for techies. There are now thousands of iPhone apps in the App Store designed for mainstream usage. Yesterday we looked at examples of health and fitness iPhone apps, today we check out what's available for a current big sporting event: the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

There were relatively slim pickings, but at least one Winter Olympics app that is a must-have for sports fans!

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The Official Apps

The official 2010 Olympics app goes by the unwieldy title of 2010Guide - Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games: The Official Mobile Spectator Guide. The app is free and is described as "a location-aware schedule" for more than 2,000 sport and cultural events between 12-28 February, 2010. It lets you create a personalized itinerary, with the help of maps to over 80 venues. It features real-time results for every sport, news headlines, photos and twitter streams.

For users actually attending the Olympics, the apps tells you 'what's on now' close to your current location - which is a nice geo-location touch.

You may also want to check out the iPhone apps of Olympic broadcasters CTV and NBC. One nice feature of the NBC app is the ability to follow athletes on Twitter and Facebook.

However, according to Chad Skelton of The Vancouver Sun, the official guide app is "head and shoulders above the other two."

The Unofficial Apps

There aren't a great deal of unofficial Olympics iPhone apps. However, one that might come in handy for TV watchers is Olympic Games and Sports Rules and Records by SportLogik. It lists the rules, a glossary of terms and the equipment used for over 70 sports. It also boasts "complete Olympic records for every Summer and Winter Olympic game ever held."

It's literally a font of all knowledge for the Winter Olympics, although it's text-heavy and not very exciting.

Of course there are some Olympics-themed gaming apps for iPhone. A good example is Ski Jump Lite (there's also a premium version).

Other Mobile Olympics Apps

Although the iPhone is the leading mobile apps platform for Olympics coverage, you don't necessarily need to have an iPhone to join in on the action. A good example is Foursquare's partnership with the New York Times, to provide reviews of local venues and offer new badges for those in the area. You'll be able to do all of the usual Foursquare things with your iPhone or any other smartphone, but in addition enjoy restaurant reviews and tips from the writers of the New York Times. That app can be found here.

Let us know in the comments if you have a favorite Olympics iPhone (or other phone) app!

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