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IT Cutbacks For 2012 London Olympics
Posted by
timothy
on Fri Nov 28, 2008 02:09 AM
from the just-crowdsource-the-whole-thing dept.
from the just-crowdsource-the-whole-thing dept.
Slatterz writes "The IT backbone for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is to be cut. According to the Games' chief integrator, Michele Hyron of Atos Origin, each section of the computing infrastructure will be made more efficient in order to minimise redundant equipment and hopefully reduce energy consumption. Unlike the Beijing Games, the results will be relayed via the public wireless network which will be available in the Olympic Park — this means cutting out the 2,500 results terminals. The team of workers will deliver more than 1,000 servers, 10,000 PCs and 4,000 printers."
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Submission: IT cutbacks for 2012 Olympics by Anonymous Coward
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Good (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Well done London, fucking ingenious.
In other news...Recession cuts back Olympics Games (Score:5, Funny)
Now instead of an International sporting competition in London, 3 guys from Yorkshire will come down and play rock, paper, scissors. To save face 1000 rounds of RPS will be played, and for each one a different combination of paper hats with different national flags printed on them will be worn by the 3 guys. The IOC is requesting donations as paper hats and printing costs money, as does travel to and from Yorkshire.
Re: (Score:2)
Now instead of an International sporting competition in London, 3 guys from Yorkshire will come down and play rock, paper, scissors...
Sounds somewhat dangerous [glennz.com] to me.
Re: (Score:2)
URL or it didn't happen.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course! (Score:5, Funny)
According to Monty Python (Meaning of Life); Yorkshire is "The Third World", so this only makes sence that they would make cutbacks.
Personally I think it's courageous of the IOC to grant these impoverished and lower class of civilized existence a chance to exist within the glorious umbrella that the IOC bequeaths.
Unfortunate wording (Score:5, Funny)
"The IT backbone for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is to be cut"
Ouch.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
It's probably quite accurate wording. Unfortunately the government have failed to realise (yet again) that when you cut the backbone of anything you leave it paralysed.
Wankers, the lot of them!
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
well most government employees don't have a backbone so they have no personal experience to draw from when you cut it.
This won't reduce energy consumption one Wh (Score:2)
It sounds like a wonderful plan, reducing energy consumption. After all, we really need to get a grasp on Co2 emissions with all the global warming and stuff.
But unless humans get their wifi implants before 2012 this will just move the cost of the energy consumption to different parties.
This won't reduce fat intake. (Score:4, Funny)
"But unless humans get their wifi implants before 2012 this will just move the cost of the energy consumption to different parties."
Like cellphones?
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Like cellphones?
Hmmm maybe I misunderstood TFA... but I had the impression it was mostly about the tens of thousands of people *working* there, covering news and stuff. They won't be using cellphones all day to get their info, but stick a couple of extra notebooks and a terminal or two in their equipment.
If it's about the general public getting some results cellphones can go a long way.
Re: (Score:2)
Overall it's some smart cost cutting
Re: (Score:2)
Re:This won't reduce energy consumption one Wh (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm no expert on the Olympics, but don't they occur every 4 years?
Maybe they could solve their efficiency problems by not buying new shit every time? Hard to imagine it sees very much wear and tear when it's being used 2 weeks every 4 years.
As an East Londoner... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:As an East Londoner... (Score:5, Informative)
May I apologise in advance for the state of the London 2012 Olympics? I have absolutely no faith in the Government bringing this in on time, or on budget.
You certainly may - apology accepted.
In other new, one of the first Olympic venues for 2012 games opens today, ahead of schedule and under budget:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7753734.stm [bbc.co.uk]
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The costs for the London 2012 Olympics have already spiraled to 2 or 3 time the original budget. Actually this was the case already 6 months ago BEFORE the credit crunch started to bit.
That said, they might open most venues in time ... just WAY over budget.
Re: (Score:2)
Why do you think VAT was cut to 15% - that'll shave a lot off the costs at a stroke! Hey presto, nearer budget!
Venue Ready. The Roads are not (Score:2, Interesting)
The Venue may be ready, but the transport links are no-where near ready. So they've got a venue but no-one will be able to get there. The Motorway (Freeway) ends 40miles from the Venue. Where the motorway ends there is a steep hill that has two lanes. HGV (Semi Trucks) crawl up at about 30mph. Even now in summer it take 10 - 15 minutes to travel 3 miles.
From about 30 Miles area from the venue is a mixture of narrow twisty single carriageway road with roundabouts (traffic circles) and dual carriageway. They
Craplympics (Score:5, Insightful)
The team of workers will deliver more than 1,000 servers, 10,000 PCs and 4,000 printers.
It always makes my blood boil to see how much money is funneled into sporting events such as the olympics without flinching, while at the same time public research, schools, etc..., people of real value to society, have to cry and beg for resources...
Sorry. You just don't understand money or politics (Score:5, Insightful)
It always makes my blood boil to see how much money is funneled into sporting events such as the olympics without flinching, while at the same time public research, schools, etc..., people of real value to society, have to cry and beg for resources...
You see, money is created from nothing. There is an infinite supply of money, it however doesn't grow on trees, someone has to go to the laborious task of typing the numbers into a computer. Or writing them into a book.
Bankers can get as much money as they like, they just pay the politicians a little bit up front and the politicians pay them back... Well, we're well into the trillions now.
Parent
Re:Sorry. You just don't understand money or polit (Score:5, Interesting)
No, money is created from something. What bankers do that makes money insubstantial is called leverage. A typical leverage structure in a functional economy is 10:1, where there is 10 times as much money issued on loan as there is in actual existence. Sounds crazy, but it works.
The current economic fiasco is due largely to excessive leverage, just like the crash of 1929. Currently, American banks that have either collapsed or are begging for bail-outs were leveraged over 100:1.
The shit hasn't quite hit the fan in Europe yet. Most major European banks are leveraged far more than 100:1, most notably German banks that exceed 400:1. So when European banks start to go tits up (and they will), keep in mind there is no treasury for the Euro. The only bailout funds are from individual countries, who are no doubt going to care more about themselves than an economic union that failed to protect them. So imagine changing currencies in the middle of the greatest economic crisis in 80 years. Think that's a good thing, or bad?
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Money can be created, but wealth can not.
If you print twice as many Euros, then the price of milk will double from 2 Euros to 4 Euros. You haven't gained anything. You're still stuck at the same amount of wealth as you had before.
Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)
I have to agree with that comment (except for schools; until such time as they concentrate on knowledge rather than stripping the individuality and ability to think from our children and forcing them to all look the same, they can take their own chances). That, and the bloody "Arts Council" which has leeched the lottery fund dry, yet we still have homeless people on the streets and people living in poverty. One "Angel of the North" (which looks like a rusty satellite has crashed near Newcastle, doing Â
Political tension (Score:2)
Trust me...The amount of political tension that is quelled as a result of friendly competition is well worth the cost. It's so sad that last Olympics was so politically charged. China's opening ceremony was a little much though.
Re: (Score:2)
You think that was unusual? Most every Olympic event makes tensions WORSE not better. When Athens held the games, you heard people insulting the Greeks as "poor and backwards farmers". When Atlanta held the games it was about how the "Americans sold out to corporations" which most of us found incredibly insulting; even the president of the IOC did a back-handed insult by refusing to say our games were good.
The Seoul games were marred by the constant threat of Communist North Korea, Barcelona was overshad
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
the asshole who took some BS social studies degree
That would be "some BA social studies degree". :)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Whoosh! :)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
In the UK it doesn't really work like that. Universities don't make money off of sports and don't really give out scholarships based on sporting ability. In other words, the government don't like giving out money to *anybody*, no matter what you're good at.
The UK government has a terrible record for IT projects. I imagine that this one will have some problems and yes, without a backup it's going to be fun to watch.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
The olympics encourage people to take up sports and get fit
Anything to back up that claim, it seems very unlikely. If it is true, what about the strain that sports related injuries would place on the NHS?
They promote tourism
Agreed, they promote tourism - to London, the place where most tourists go and only a small proportion actually get out and look at the rest of the country.
It's developing an area of London that has been run down for decade
Fine, but I suspect that what this run down area really needs isn't unused stadia. Other cities have used the Olympics as a way of improving infrastructure (e.g. Athens built a new cross-city public transport s
Re: (Score:2)
In the United States a study was performed that showed metropolitan city-states (Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, et cetera) paid the most in taxes, and the rural farmland states (Nebraska, Iowa, Wyoming, et cetera) receive more money in government handouts than any other region.
Isn't it possible the same is true in the UK where London, being a financial capital, actually spends MORE money than it receives, and it's the rural "north" that gets the most money in government handouts? I suspect if a study was
Re: (Score:2)
The whole country will benefit. There's nowhere in the UK that's more than a day's driving or a 1 hour plane journey away from London. Besides, Londoners are paying the vast majority of the costs, why the hell shouldn't they benefit? Were Londoners whining when Manchester got the commonwealth games (which were paid for by the whole country with no council tax rises). Besides, tax from tourism in London benefits
Re:Craplympics (Score:5, Insightful)
>>>The olympics encourage people to take up sports and get fit.
Since the Olympics were installed people are MORE fat than ever, not less. The Olympics have done nothing of what you claim.
>>>They promote tourism.
Not really. Most of the cities that sponsored the Olympics are still deep in debt. There are a few exceptions like Atlanta which was mostly paid by corporations, but then there are others like Toronto who, even thirty years later, are still in debt. Tourism does not make-up for the huge expense of throwing this "huge sports party" known as the Olympics.
>>>you can pump as much money as you want into schools and research and it tends to dissapear into a black hole.
The fact that we are both sitting here with college degrees, and now contributing back to society with our respective design expertise, belies that claim. Schools contribute for the simple reason that people walk into kindergarten going "duh" and they come out with the ability to read, write, and do basic math (or go onto college).
That's better than what sponsorship of Olympic-level sport produces (a broken worn-out body in most cases & a way to sell Fruit Loops in national advertising).
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Toronto might be in debt, but when did we have the Olympics here and how did I manage to miss it?
Re: (Score:2)
I always thought it was fun to compare my grades to other students. We also compared our "rankings" every quarter to see who was in the Top 10, who was in the Top 20, and so on. If the local news can take 5 minutes a day to report the results of high school sports, surely they can set aside a minute or two to report on the Top scholars.
"The following students were named on the honor roll, with John Smith and Jill Doe holding the number one and two spots. Congratulations! Keep up the good work."
Redundancy is for pussies (Score:2, Informative)
Backup? I don' NEED no steenking backup!
Rant (Score:4, Interesting)
Londoners go on about how London subsidises the rest of the country, but this has actually always translated as "controls the banking system and so rips off your profit and claims it as its own". This has just gone massively pear shaped...so now the Government wants the rest of the country to pay for the Olympics through general taxes.
Don't get me wrong, I am an expat Londoner. But the mismanagement of London, where some of the most deprived areas of the country are next to some of the richest, and people earning £1 million a year try to avoid paying their cleaners even minimum wages, is truly horrible. I'm glad to live in a much more egalitarian part of the country where we don't have the resulting crime and drug problems.
GB cannot really afford the Olympics, which has become completely bloated owing to the ludicrous over promotion of the IOC. We should either tell the IOC to go deflate itself and run a Games that London can afford, or let Beijing have it a second time, thus helping them to pay for all those facilities. I favour the first option...in which case this should only be the start and there should be rigorous pruning of excess. Beginning with replacing Tessa Jowell and Sebastian Coe with Second Life avatars who won't be able to spend lots of public money on entertaining corrupt functionaries.
Re: (Score:2)
In the United States a study was performed that showed metropolitan states (Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, et cetera) paid the most in taxes, and the rural farmland states (Nebraska, Iowa, Wyoming, et cetera) receive more money in government handouts than any other region.
Isn't it possible the same is true in the UK where London, being a financial capital, actually spends MORE money than it receives, and it's the rural "north" that gets the most money in government handouts? I suspect if a study was perfor
Open Source (Score:2)
Probably won't happen - the Olympics is about money, lots of it; also about puffing politicians pride - the sports stars are a means to an end but not the most important people.
But will they be using WEP . . . ? (Score:2)
. . . well, it doesn't matter. By 2012, the aircrack-ng boys will have WPA cracked.
Youse guys are gonna be *awed* by the number of golds that I win!
Re: (Score:2)
Then they will use WPA2 using AES like the rest of us concerned about security. I doubt AES will be cracked anytime soon if ever except through brute force techniques. BTW, you can use rainbow tables on WPA2. Just don't use short passwords or generic SSIDs(salted with the SSID). Either would make you immune to rainbow table cracks.
4000 printers for 10000 pcs?! (Score:3, Insightful)
That's nearly 1 printer for every 2 people. Here we have a team of 25 sharing a printer, and there's rarely a queue. How many trees are they intending to cut down?
It is the nature of sports reporting. (Score:2)
If you need some print out to support your journalistic work you can't wait for other people, maybe trying to report about the same event as you are.
If you are a few minutes late in your work very often that may mean it is no longer relevant.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Then why is it being printed?
So they can courier it across the city... post it in the mail... send it via carrier pidgeon etc.
Doesn't hold water, sorry.
in other news (Score:5, Interesting)
Still, as long as he's popular
I worked the distances out using 1 car = 3 metres long. If some of those were trucks, then the line gets longer, and most cars are longer than 3m anyway.
Yes this is relevant to the Olympics. Efficient transportation is kind of essential at large events.
Bad, yet good also (Score:3, Interesting)
While cutting back is probably a bad idea, because the Olympics are hard enough to pull off even without cutbacks, part of me cheers because the Olympics is SO WASTEFUL and its good to see a little less waste. Billions of dollars to build a bunch of temporary facilities and showpieces that will have to be maintained at vast expense and eventually destroyed or converted to something else. And then it happens again in 4 years.
Though it would suck for everyone else, I sort of think the Olympics should just go around the same few venues and actually MAKE USE of the already built facilities.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)