The Changing Face Of Sports (the latest in technology) Reporting
No commentsBy Alex Mahone
In the old days, getting the latest slice of news about your favourite sports team would typically involve waiting a day before the newspaper reaches your doorstep. Those without the ability of getting their hands on such major papers would instead have to rely on television news programmes. This would be of little hassle to people who live in the same country that the sport event originates from, such as Americans following their NFL franchise. However, for fans living in other countries outside of America, it might mean having to wait days, weeks or even months for such news to be made to them on the airwaves.
The reasons for this are manyfold. One of them was obviously the difficulty of reporters providing quick and instant reporting back to the head offices where the news would be centrally disseminated. There were also printing deadlines that has to be waited on each day before everything could be made available to the public. If the sports event was based overseas, local reporters would also have to battle long distances, time zones and other factors such as weather conditions before the latest scoops or results were readily available. All of this combined together to make it both a challenging but equally rewarding endeavour for sports journalists.
When the Internet took the world by storm over a decade ago, the face of sports reporting slowly rode on the revolutionary wave of information provision enabled by advanced technology. News broadcasters and reporters could now rely on the rapid transmission of data and information via digital means over the Web from one location to another, regardless of the distance. As long as the Internet was available, it made the delivery of sports news much easier, faster and more accurate to fans all over the world. However, the beginning of the information age was still restricted to text based sports news reporting before other media forms were capable of being sent using such means. That did not deter fans from glueing themselves to websites or message boards that had independent or amateur sports reporters doing their bit to share what they knew about their teams with others.
Once video and new media hit the online world, the possibilities of sports reporting became virtually endless. On the surface, videos helped to liven up bare text and photo articles on many web sites. The more discerning journalists were able to make greater use of the limitless features that were provided with such a media form. They could now broadcast interviews with sports stars, fans and even people on the street. Advertising was also leveraged on since videos were more engaging and could reach a wider audience. Teams and sports governing bodies also jumped at the chance to use technology that allowed live broadcasts of both news and the actual events or games. That would prompt even more sports fans joining the Internet revolution as greater options were made available. Terrestrial and traditional sports reporting have even been pushed to the backseat with such developments.
As technology becomes more advanced with time, there will be more fantastic avenues that could help push reporting of sports through current boundaries. It has not only allowed mainstream news media to widen their scope but many more aspiring journalists have been able to pursue their passion of chronicling their favourite sports through their own means. This can only benefit sports as a whole on a positive social level.
Alex Mahone is an aspiring sports journalist with a passion for various disciplines. Find out his reviews on the best sports directory on the Internet, as well as the interesting soccer news sites based on Alex’s personal measures.
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Microsoft and Silverlight Provide Video Streaming to iPhones
By Roberto Garabell
The case since the introduction of the iPhone has unfortunately been that Microsoft compatible browser plug-ins have been incompatible with the iPhone making the work of web development considerably more challenging. This means that many developers who rely on Flash, Flex, or Silverlight have been able to create web applications for every operating system other than Mobile Safari. However, recently, Microsoft worked with Apple to develop some changes to Silverlight so that it can be used to stream videos on iPhones. This does not indicate a sudden change of heart by Apple. Browser plug-ins for the iPhone are still restricted but Microsoft has adapted its server to enable Silverlight encoded video to be shown on an iPhone using the well known HTML5 video tag.
The Back Story
It has always been the case that Apple products strictly follow some rules of exclusivity allowing the company to decide what will and will not be compatible with their devices. Some have seen this as one of the major limitations of Apple and subsequently iPods and iPhones while others argue that this gives Apple its only opportunity to fairly compete with Microsoft when it comes to personal computing and web devices. Whatever your stance, the fact remains that this lack of cross compatibility has forced some developers to create RIA and mobile web spaces specifically for iPhones and iPods while the rest of the developers create applications that are compatible across the spectrum of mobile devices, with the exception of iPods and iPhones. While iTunes and the AppStore are highly successful endeavours drawing a wide range of development talent, the battle for audience has prevented many developers from making the switch, especially since this often requires further investment in development resources. Moreover, this issue has been the topic of lengthy discussion as the world of developers has waited with baited breath for the first fully compatible development tools.
While there are still no platforms that will work with all devices, Microsoft has recently spent time working with Apple in order to enable Silverlight video streaming on iPhones. At their 2009 Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft demonstrated this new capability which is the result of server changes rather than plug-in changes. Microsoft’s IIS7 server software has been modified so that it is now capable of sending Quick Time compatible streams to an iPhone while still embedded with an HTML5 video tag.
Much like Flash, Silverlight is a .NET authoring runtime for mobile web applications but offers cross-device, cross-browser, and cross-platform solutions that works identically on Apple and Microsoft operating systems. iPhone users had, until now, a number of problems receiving their content, especially with regards to media content like broadcasting. Microsoft therefore wanted to find an acceptable method to provide users with content.
How It Works
One of the most beneficial features of Silverlight is that it is able to share the same content on multiple platforms without the need to create a version that is specific to different platforms. This has also been a long-standing benefit of using Adobe Flash or Adobe Air but developers lacked the tools for cross-compatibility with iPhone and iPod operating systems. In fact, Silverlight is Microsoft’s answer to Adobe development tools but we still have not reached compatibility with Apple.
Originally developed to provide streaming video, Silverlight has evolved into a tool that can run full web applications. The first step in iPhone compatibility however has been Microsoft adapting to streaming video. Essentially, Silverlight can run MPEG-2 files so Microsoft decided to create a server-side solution to stream videos on the iPhone. Microsoft’s IIS Media Services have been enabled to respond to information from an iPhone and transcode immediately to H.264 format. As a result, content providers who are already using IIS Media Services can share content with iPhones without separate encoding for videos or the need to maintain separate content delivery systems. In other words, Silverlight will use the HTML5 video tag to communicate a Quick Time request through the IIS server which then transcodes the message into MPEG-2 format. Users will then have a wider range of applications and videos that can play on their iPhone. For example, Netflix will now be iPhone compatible.
The Advantages
The main impetus for Microsoft to adapt for iPhone users is simple: money. Silverlight, if all things go to plan, will become the only development tool that is truly cross compatible giving developers a huge motivational force for using this product. More users will get more content, yes, but Microsoft will also position themselves as the market leader for mobile web and RIA development tools. As it stands, Adobe Flash and Flex are typically regarded as the favourites for developers but by opening the doors to iPhones and the greater audience that comes with it, developers will have little reason to use alternate tools.
On the other hand, the expansion of the notion of cross compatibility could completely transform the tools that we use. As mobile web has become more and more popular over the past couple of years, there have been more and more uses for these online applications. The value of using one system across devices ensures that no matter what site you visit, no matter what application you use, your mobile device will function smoothly and efficiently.
Moonrise Productions is a full services web design company offering complete design services, social networking website development, ecommerce development and more. With New York, San Diego, San Francisco and a Los Angeles presence no matter where you are, we’ve got people to serve you.
Getting Started: Free Printable Sudoku
By Andrew Collins
You have been hearing from other people about the new puzzle game Sudoku. Your husband is also wildly passionate about it. He even would spend a day and sometimes a whole night solving it. Even your children are also avid players of the puzzle.
What would you do if you experience all these things? What if your parents, whom you do not expect to be playing it, are also obsessed with the Sudoku. What would you feel? Would you scream? Would you cry because you think you are the only person left who does not know anything about it?
Oh, come on! Do not fret too much! Sudoku is a famous game that is making every citizen of this country and every people of the world addicted with it. Even you too can play it.
How can you do it? It is so simple! Have your first tried looking for it on the internet? Many websites offer free play on their Sudoku. Otherwise, if you want you can just search for the free printable Sudoku. Since you are a beginner, it would be great to have the puzzle printed in order for you to study it well. Also, you will be able to carry it with you anywhere you go.
How can you download a free printable Sudoku?
To download a free printable Sudoku puzzle, you have to go to a search engine such as the “G” or the “Y” and key in your keywords “free printable Sudoku”. You just have to wait for a second or two then, you will have thousands of results to search through. After searching, choose a puzzle. Once you have found out which of the printable Sudoku is suitable for you, download it to your computer.
After downloading, print the puzzle. It is assured that it will give you hours of leisure, excitement and fun.
Your free printable Sudoku puzzle is just like an ordinary puzzle found in the newspaper or magazine. It also consists of a 9 x 9 grid (81 boxes/cells). It has 9 cells per row and column. The 9 x 9 grid is divided into 3 x 3 blocks with empty cells and cells that are already filled with numbers.
The cells, which already have numbers, cannot be moved or replaced with other numbers. Therefore, a player should only fill in the empty cells with the numbers from 1 to 9. However, the player must know that there is limitation in placing each numbers. Two same numbers should not appear on each row, column or block.
This may sound so simple! However, that is not impossible, only and if only you have chosen a printable Sudoku that makes it easy to solve. This is because there are also printable Sudoku which are very difficult to analyze and very hard to solve.
Most beginners assume that Sudoku puzzle are very difficult because of how it looks like. But this is not true! Once you started to play it, you will realize that it is just as easy as the crossword puzzle. You do not even need to be an expert in math for you to complete the printable Sudoku puzzle. Every puzzle will only require you to be very patient. It also needs more time to finish it and you have to have concentration while doing the puzzle.
To most people, Sudoku is a nice way to awaken the mind every morning or during coffee break. Since it is the printable Sudoku, you can bring it with you on a weekend vacation with your family. For sure, your family will be engrossed in trying to complete the puzzle that perhaps you will not hear them asking “will the journey take long” for a hundred times.
Download your printable Sudoku from any results of a search engine, print it out and let your husband and children realize that you too are engrossed in such puzzle. For that matter, print the puzzle out and give them a copy of it. In this way, you will see the many different ways it can be completed.
Remember, each of the location has over a million of combinations that can surely work on the puzzle. Find out how many combinations you and your family can make.
Enjoy the puzzle while at the same time learning how well you can practice your patience and concentration.
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Sunday, February 28th, 2010 at 4:05 am and is filed under technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
