Days Numbered for Google’s Challengers in Sports Realm

June 4th, 2008 by Tuffy

Dan Shanoff is completely right.  (Dan Shanoff now owes us a Coke.)

(This one’s for you, Dan.)

Google’s getting into the sports information business and Shanoff notes the true value of doing so:

When my Gmail email app and my Gtalk IM app and my Google Alerts and my Google Docs and my Google News updates are all working seamlessly in a fantasy app, that’s It.

Which, honestly, someone could do (for the most part) right now with Google APIs, but it’s not quite the same as Google doing it for us.

Beyond that, though, Google’s jones for extensibility will push the envelope on fantasy automation and change the face of fantasy sports.  Imagine this:

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Touch Me in My Sporting Arena: TouchWall in Training

May 20th, 2008 by Tuffy

We’re fairly familiar with the ability to project and work with computers onto a whiteboard.  These interactive boards (usually requiring rear projection) allow the user to hook up a computer to the board and then use it normally, either with the standard software that comes with their computer or special whiteboard software that allows the user to create special presentations or activities.

For those of you out of school for awhile, this may seem stunning.  For those of you currently or recently in school, you may not quite understand why death by chalk inhalation was once an omnipresent teaching danger of the 20th Century. 

However, we’re excited about an announcement last week by Microsoft that takes this notion of wall computing to a much more usable level: touchscreen wall computing.  No rear projection; no special pens; fully interactive.  Welcome to TouchWall.

Why do we bring it up here?  Remove the example under this gentleman’s finger and replace it with game film from last week’s loss to Alabama State.  Or how about a simply-written application that allows the coach to enter all the plays in and run them at any speed, stopping and moving a defensive back out of position to see how the play’s result changes?  How about loading all the team’s plays into that application and running pop quizzes with the players?

Now we’re cookin’.

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