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IT Meets the World Cup
daria42 writes "Looks as if there are some mad soccer fans at ZDNet ... they have compiled a guide to some of the IT systems behind the soccer World Cup. 'What does it take to design, build and operate an advanced, fault-tolerant IP network while the whole world watches?' one of the articles asks. Another looks at how broadcasters have beefed up their infrastructure as they prepare for an influx of fans desperate for information, while another looks at one of the upcoming matches: FIFA vs. Hackers."
For the last time, it's called Football!
I hadn't noticed a soccer event. Whatever 'soccer' is, it was bad timing to clash with the Football World Cup!
I'm more interested in what FIFA is going to do about the rampant racism that often surrounds European football more than what they'll do against hackers. It's very real and very scary for people of color (as Henry has talked about).
I bet with that headline most Slashdotters won't even read the fucking summary.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
What world cup? Is there anything meaningful going on currently?
(spare me the answer. I wish I could cryo myself for a month)
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
In China, most of them don't pay for watching FIFA.
Don't blame them for pirating your content. They should really taking their standard of living when charging them the royalty. What RMB150 per month for FIFA watching? Fuck, some of them just earn less than RMB500 per month.
Life finds its way. You charge them what majority can't afford, majority looks for something free
.
I think this was brought up recently - how can I watch the games streaming in the U$A?
Or, ZDNet reprinted a four-page press release from the World Cup after the Cup spent four years soliciting IT sponsors. "Compiled a guide" my ass...
Mad as in crazy. Mad meaning angry is an American colloquialism.
~*~ Tara
in most of the world, the World Cup is (dare I say it) more important than any other sporting event (yes, even the olympic games). It'd do good to US citizens to dig out of the hole and stop pretending; while you're at it you might as well start ditching the imperial measuring system. And yes, in most of the rest of the world, interesting matches are broadcast for free. lol!
I thought slashdot would be the one place us geeks could get away from this football-talk.
Yawn.
DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
The Football World Cup sounds cool though, is that like the Super Bowl? Go Redskins!
SpyDock: Scientific Python in a Docker container
soccer is still not a widely accepted sport in the US, so while you laugh at what a "stupid" sport soccer is, the rest of the world is laughing at us for not supporting what could be a World Cup Championship calibur team this quatrain. when a foreign country wins the World Cup, there is literally partying and dancing in the streets, but sadly, that would not be the case should the US take the cup.
It would appear that sarcasm is an American concept as well...
For busy /. readers in the US with limited (if any) interest in the World Cup finals, the following brief article summary is provided as a service:
Hackers say to FIFA "i got ball" then call them stupid white bitches and threaten to whack them upside the head with their own sidekicks.
What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?
Blue Coat Systems sells appliances that claim to cache (stored) and split (live) streaming video. If true, these (or things like these) could be deployed at the bottlenecks.
In Soviet Russia, fault-tolerant IP network designs, builds, and operates YOU.
Students predict the outcome of the World Cup
They use some algorithms and a lot of data. For the record, with 83% accuracy, Brazil will beat Italy.
"Sure there's porn and piracy on the Web but there's probably a downside too."
>in most latin derived languages (except english) it's just called football however.
I think you'll find it's called football in English as well, particularly in the British Isles.
In the US, American Football is called Football
In Australia, Australian Rules Football is called Football
In the UK, Association Football is called Football
The usage of the name depends upon the predominant sport, and therefore it is inaccurate to state that it is called Soccer in English and not football, as it is dependent upon locale, not language.
wow. the ignorance in your post is something you don't see that often in /.
How is soccer different from hockey ?
So it's great when it happens a 100 times in a game?..
The excitement will take no end at the 101th time someone scores... yeaaaaayy
Advertising. Plain and simple.
Soccer does not stop for anything. There's no stopping for injuries, time-outs for strategies, etc. Soccer is the most dynamic sport on the planet, period. I really admire those guys spending 90 minutes running and doing stuff. I think that Soccer, as a TV spectator sport, has not catched on major networks because advertisers here in the US do not like it. There's no place for 30 second ads! Gasp! Egads! There's no place for gimmicky Super Bowl ads!
I really like Soccer, on TV and on the flesh. I really hope that the US team goes far this time, even though I'm rooting for other teams. That's the only way US spectators will notice and learn what the rest of the planet knows. Soccer RULES!
the future is but past forgotten
I'm currently watching the BBC tv coverage on one monitor via my slingbox, BBC online live coverage on the other monitor and listening to talksport radio on my ipaq - I couldn't do any of these last world cup.
:)
Don't ya just love technology
wow. the ignorance in your post is something you don't see that often in /.
Wow is right. You must be new here. Welcome.
I think you hate what you don't understand. I took the time to check out American Football once. If you think World Football looks stupid from the outside, I won't even start talking about how stupid American Football does. But it *is* an interesting game, after all.
World Football has lots of strategy. But you don't get to see it unless you get into it. Sorry.
For the last time, it's called Football!
Thanks goodness it's the last time, I'm tired of ya'all callin Soccer Football.
-- www.globaltics.net
Political discussion for a new world
I am probably going to get modded troll by every north american here but this needs to be said. Football, or "soccer" as you so quaintly call it does not lack the strategy of american games however it does lack the 30 second break every two or three seconds so the teams can take a breather and the TV pundits can explain what just happened. Hockey is, and always will be, much more interesting when it is played by 18 year old girls rather than burley frat boys in pads and american "football" is an enigma: as Giles from Buffy said once, I have never understood why a nation which prides itself on its virility has to put on 40lbs of protective clothing just to play rugby. Football (not the american sort) has been labelled "the beautiful game" throughout the world because of the grace and skill needed to play it at a high level. The game has a true World Cup in which countries come together and compete on a level field... you do not need to be an american college frat boy to get into the team and some of the best players in the world have come from the poorest parts of the world. If you have not developed a love for fast paced games then it is likely you have not taken the time to understand how they are played and never felt the rush of watching your team win from a losing position.
Be nice, sponsor me: http://jailbreak.ragabonds.org.uk
The RSS feeds you can get on the World Cup that focus on providing tools for scores and stat fanatics is poor. A real RSS explosion/tool explosing would rise if that info would be more easy free available. Microsoft did some nice work with a EXCEL but then you would need licences.. RSS discovery next World Cup then?
You might have misunderstood my point.
I dislike basketball too, it appears that the only difference between the two are the fequency of goals.
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
You need to start watching people fencing saber. I was at the World Under-17 championships last year as one of the coaches to the British squad.
8 615883493 for a (not very good) example.
First period (this stops when someone reaches 8 hits): 8-4 to Alex O'Connell after 27 seconds of fencing time.
Half time break: 1 minute
Second period (this stops when someone reaches 15): 15-11 to Alex O'Connell after 29 seconds of fencing time.
An ideal sport for those with the attention span of a small goldfish.
See http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=539602150
Where apparently (admittedly bad) humor is lost on my countrymates.
Dissolve... Resolve... Evolve...
"I live in Canada. I like hockey & (American) Football (NFL/CFL).
I hate soccer for the same reasons I hate basketball and golf.
It is slow, boring and from the looks of things involves very little strategy."
Fyi: Football (soccer) is all about strategy, it's the "chess of the green fields", goddammit. I like hockey too, and while strategy is an important element in that game too, it's in no way comparable to football. Slow-paced doesn't mean boring. Despite of being a fast game, hockey games can be very boring sometimes too.
Anybody remembers PeerCast? I think it was made for situations like this :) Some people in Japan already set up some stations, but not enough...
Can somebody set up one station closer to the US, to get my fix at lunch/work? (I don't mind the language).
You kick a ball with your foot. Ball, Foot. Football. Soccer ?? What, is it because you play wearing socks? It actually is an abbreviation for Association Football. FOOTBALL! American "Football" is just plain unoriginal.
World Cup 2006 'abused for mega-surveillance project'
NATO surveillance planes to patrol World Cup
Erich Mielke would be happy.
I loved playing soccer when I was in highschool. There was something simplistic about the game and yet fun. I for one would love to watch all the World Cup matches but unfortunately ESPN isn't carrying them (unless I'm misreading the schedule) and as has been mentioned before the BBC is only for UK residents so I guess I'm out of luck :(.
"The boy is dangerous, they all sense it, why can't you?"
I believe the post-storm you have generated is a dupe from the "Soccer" vs. "Football" terminology argument started in recent days regarding the article suggesting a World Cup-related internet meltdown.
Get over it, kids, you understand shit when you hear people talk about it.
For the record, I played Soccer as a kid here in Detroit, but I tend to think the countries that actually play and watch a sport get to name it. Either that, or the countries that have been around longer. So, I played Soccer, but I love to watch World Cup Football action.
Where can a body watch the World Cup games on-line? I know the BBC is streming them but you can only watch if you live in the UK... suggestions?
You can quit making fun of the American way of describing your "football" as "soccer" now, thanks.
:). English and most other major languages have differences across regions (compare High German with Swiss German once!), and whatever historical reasons there are, they hardly matter - it is what it is, and you all understand when we say soccer. Life goes on!
Every region has different words for the same thing, even if it's ostensibly the same language. Bangers? Sausages, but we wouldn't call them that in America. Go to the UK and they'll know what you mean, though. Mates? Friends in Australia, someone you have sex with in the Midwest, and who knows, maybe an officer of a ship in the navy (not having been in it, I don't know
"Smith steals the ball, weaves his way through traffic, shoots AND SCORES!!"
How is that so different from Ice hockey? (besides the use of a ball obviously).
It must be convenient that the inherently superior sports you like just happen to be the ones played in your country.
Both are non-stop. The action continues from beginning to end. Of course, there are yellow flags in racing, but they cannot be predicted and so don't work for advertisers. Soccer stops as well, for yellow cards and injuries, but also unpredictably.
Fans are stereotyped. All we see on the news is about "soccer hooligans". We certainly wouldn't want those kind of people in our towns. Of course, all NASCAR fans are rednecks.
The playing field is too big. Because the action is non-stop and the playing field or race track is so large, its too hard to cover it properly for television viewing. With basesball all the action happens between the pitcher and the catcher, with some in-field shots. Easy to cover with cameras. Basketball has a small court. Football has a large field but play is in short bursts. There is plenty of time to reset camera angles.
NASCAR has fixed this a little bit with car mounted cameras. When watching a soccer game on TV it like watching it from the worst seats in the house.
Lack of understanding of the rules and strategy. In the USA people didn't grow up playing soccer therefore they don't know the rules. It would be the same as watching a chess match if you didn't know the rules. NASCAR has its own set of rules that people don't understand.
Fortunately, soccer is popular among the younger crowd. In a few years, the USA men may be ready to play at the world-class level of the women.
Go Team USA.
Your friend and well-wisher
m0smithslash
http://www.ferociousflirting.com
From Wikipedia: A persistent myth is that the "World" in "World Series" came about because the New York World newspaper sponsored it. Baseball researcher Doug Pappas refutes that claim, demonstrating a linear progression from the phrase "World's Championship Series" (used to describe the 1903 series as well as some of the 19th-century postseason series) to "World's Series" (a term first used in the 1880s and which persisted for decades) to "World Series". Furthermore, investigation of the New York World for the relevant years revealed no evidence of the supposed sponsorship. (For details, see Mr. Pappas' web page on the subject.) In deference to any controversy, more and more the term "World Series Championship" is being used, the subtlety being that it is merely a title and not a political statement.
Granted, I wasn't attending especially thug-heavy English matches, but I never saw anything even remotely approaching "Sieg Heil" salutes and overt signs. The big club teams all have racially mixed rosters anyway; it doesn't make particular sense for fans to chant racial slurs -- not that racism makes any particular sense.
Not that the incidents aren't real, but there's some echo chamber effect going on there.
American sports has such a strong strain of submerged racism, though -- I wonder how pervasive that is in international "futbol." (For example: two almost identical baseball players have borderline Hall of Fame careers; one of them did it through hard work and refining his skills and so on, and the other one was a brilliant athlete. Wait a minute -- the numbers are nearly the same. How can we tell the natural athlete from the hard worker? Because the hard worker's white, and the athlete is black. See: Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker, Detroit Tigers.)
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
There's plenty of Soccer on TV here. The fact that no one watches it is not because it doesn't have ads. The last time I watched a soccer game, I was actually hoping they would break for an ad to break up the dull monotony of the game.
Mmmm.. Donuts
Yeah I saw that just as I posted. I guess im relegated to the netcast because the satellite is down at my place . Nasty weather. But still at least I can watch it :)
"The boy is dangerous, they all sense it, why can't you?"
I haven't seen it myself, but I understand that ESPN has done something similar (reduced the game to a smaller square and did something like a picture-in-picture for the ad) this year for the MLS (Major League Soccer) broadcasts.