Olympic Committee Bans Wi-Fi Hotspots

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ewood

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the olympic committee needs to be put back in its place. sounds like a bunch of old people are making rules because they dont understand technology and are therefor scared of it...
 

kossmalta

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Is this the Olympic for people or corporations? If Brits didn't want to make something for the whole world and mostly themselves as hosts why give it to them?
You know it was the Greeks that invented those things, right? It wasn't the bankers (greek or not) either...
Perhaps they knew better how to make Olympics, but we still felt the need to 'optimize' them .... FTS!
 

gamara

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This is the IOC. The ones that chose London as the site. They have an obligation to the groups that paid large sums of money to get exclusivity to broadcast the events (NBC) and as there is so much to air, as well as a 6+ hr time difference, there will be a fair amount of delayed airing that they are trying to keep fresh. They could run a bunch of Cisco Aironet AP's with a WLC and have it all configured to jam rogue AP's.
 

bigdragon

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I thought the Olympic games were supposed to be open and inclusive. I thought it was a world showcase of athletes, countries, and communities. The list of banned items is so large here they might as well convert to a list of acceptable items. I'm really shocked by that social media blackout thing in particular. What's next? Are they going to ban Android phones or block people on non-sponsoring carriers from using their devices? They already do this with credit cards.

I don't like what the Olympics has become.
 

tului

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[citation][nom]gamara[/nom]This is the IOC. The ones that chose London as the site. They have an obligation to the groups that paid large sums of money to get exclusivity to broadcast the events (NBC) and as there is so much to air, as well as a 6+ hr time difference, there will be a fair amount of delayed airing that they are trying to keep fresh. They could run a bunch of Cisco Aironet AP's with a WLC and have it all configured to jam rogue AP's.[/citation]
The money ruins it in my opinion. Should be given to all networks free. *sigh*
 

womble

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Well I generally always enjoy the games but all the megacorp sponsorship and stuff is getting to be a bit of a turn off. Lord knows how on earth we ended up winning the bid, there can't be many countries we haven't honked off these past few years.

I suspect that there are a good portion of athletes and the general populace that would support the notion of having the games in their spiritual home of Greece. Slightly toned down and cutting some of the peripheral 'me too, me too' sports. Difficult to draw a line I know, but football and stuff?
 

teddymines

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So take your pics and videos, and then update your social media when you get back to your hotel. You'd think the IOC would *want* more exposure, especially to the younger generations that have social media so tightly integrated in their being.
 

freggo

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So they do not want people to post anything on youtube or Facebook of what they photographed or taped ? Yeah, great idea. Why let the world see what is happening at your little party.

Personally I don't really care as my interest in the 'games' is at or around the freezing point.
Every 4 years a bunch of people running, jumping etc. than a year or two later the sad story of the run down venues which now need to be paid off by the local tax payers.
Take Athens or Beijing for example.

I rather watch a rerun of MASH :)
 

freggo

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[citation][nom]digiex[/nom]But of course you can bring your oversize dick...[/citation]

Actually you can not!
Read again, Any 'equipment' over 30cm is not allowed :) :)

 

teh_chem

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Was this the policy in the recent-past Olympics, or is this new to this years' games?

I thought that the Olympics were public games--and as such, shouldn't you be able to photograph things in public and share them openly? Oh, right, since we have networks bidding top-dollar, they don't want their precious cutthroat content-providing to be infringed upon. Doesn't this go AGAINST what the core of the Olympics values stood for?

Besides, with the extensively-connected devices we have, few people really need to rely on a generated wifi hotspot to transmit data. Might as well, just prohibit ALL devices in general if you think you can impact the situation. Sounds like the committee is living in the previous decade.
 

gm0n3y

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[citation][nom]teddymines[/nom]So take your pics and videos, and then update your social media when you get back to your hotel. You'd think the IOC would *want* more exposure, especially to the younger generations that have social media so tightly integrated in their being.[/citation]
They don't make money from exposure. They make money from advertisements, sponsors, tv viewership. They fear people watching the events on social media sites that haven't paid for that 'privilege'.

The last Olympics (Vancouver) weren't nearly this restrictive. They only limited items based on security reasons. The UK keeps trying to become the most controlling country in the world and the IOC is happily going along while counting their money.
 

teddymines

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Maybe my perception has changed, but the whole spirit of the olympics has changed since 30+ years ago. I remember watching Bruce Jenner, Mary Lou Retton, Nadia...and then someone discovered that there is Mo Money To Be Made. Now there are millions of commercials, extended breaks, etc.

A lot of people I know feel the same way about the olympics, and don't bother watching. While I have a lot of admiration for those who compete, the OIC and networks have really sullied the experience from the spectator's perspective.

The IOC should embrace technology and show all events in real time through streaming services. Have a broadcaster for each language. Archive the events. Build an app so people can access via mobile device or plain old internet.
 
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If their intention is to stop pictures and videos from reaching social media, how exactly is banning wireless hubs going to do this if they already have 3g data on their smartphones? Am I missing something here? I read the article twice, this doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Is the true intent supposed to target out of country folk from sending pictures or communicating? I don't know how British networks or GSM work all that much, is anyone able to clarify what the intention of that ban is? I'm sure theres tech-savy people in the IOC.
 
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liquids, aerosols, or gels in quantities greater than 100ml

but. my body contains more than 100ml of blood, does that mean i have to leave it behind?


 

clownbaby

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I'll bet the rules weren't this strict when the games were in Soviet Moscow. I know England was shooting for 1984, but it's obviously not too late for a little social oppression. Wait. Isn't that what the Olympics are against? Why do the Olympics have a social agenda? Isn't it just a bunch of people playing sports? Oh well. At least I have another good reason not to care about sports that are only broadcast twice a decade.
 
G

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So people can't post pictures of any of the interesting things they see from the Olympics? Why not? What's their reasoning? Why would pictures of the venue, or even of athletes competing be prohibited from being posted? WHY?
 
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