August 8th, 2008
Rant: Official Olympics Website is AWFUL
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
I am not the sporty type but I do expect a website - any website - to be useful in some way. Even if that means making you laugh or telling the time, or reviewing the latest movies. You get the idea. Useful.
Why then is the official Olympics website completely useless when it comes to some basics? For instance, what channel is the $^%$ coverage on? I thought NBC had the rights for the United States, but there is no NBC logo on the website or any mention of how to find out who covers the event by country.
Next up - when are the events taking place? I tried the link to schedule times and got this indecipherable grid (see below.) Looks great, but maybe it would have been easier to say that on Saturday, the lineup was water polo, pole vaulting and javelin. What the grid said was lost on me.
Bottom line: Maybe I am not sporty, but shouldn’t all information be packaged so that the most basic info is clear to all and then more stats and detail is available ot those who want to do a deeper dive? In the name of usefulness, go to http://www.nbcolympics.com/ and click on TV and Online Schedules. You still get a grid, but it is a bit more useful. Sigh…
RogerDucky says:
Can’t figure out the grid? I figured it out pretty quickly, for some reason. They list it by both the date and the “days since opening ceremony” — things in blue are usual game events, and orange are various “finals” — number in it has to do with the number of “gold medals” awarded on for that event on that day.
If you click on a day, it opens that day’s schedule up for you and tells you when various events begin and end for that day.
If you click on an event, it lists the days and time when the particular event would happen.
Didn’t find it particularly appalling.
Granted, they were lazy and didn’t even have links for the stations responsible for broadcasting various events in various regions, but they seem to have designed the website solely for those in Beijing and plans on watching or participating in the games live.
I thought NBC was pretty good about getting the word out that they’re broadcasting the games.
Besides, don’t you have a DVR for checking the actual scheduled times?
August 8th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
c says:
thats why NBC has www.NBCOlympics.com actually a fairly nice site. Check out the listings
August 8th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
guil666sucks says:
I don”t think it”s bad as people say. Well whatsonever I prefer watching olympics on tv and browsing hentai sites on net anyway hehe
August 9th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
John says:
>> or instance, what channel is the $^%$ coverage on?
What channel in which country? This is a global site.
August 11th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Alice says:
I know it is global. I thought they would have a country list or major broadcaster list where you could start to drill down to your city/carrier. For US, they could send you to NBColympics.com and you are set, but that site is not even linked???
August 13th, 2008 at 5:19 am
Danny says:
I have a few comments about the 2012 Olympics?
(1) do you think that London will have enough Gas Reserves to switch the Olympic flame on in 2012?
(2) Who was embarrassed with the way the British National Anthem was sung? at the Beijing closing Ceremony (what a embarrassment…)
August 24th, 2008 at 5:38 am