NFL Week 5: If we have to pee in a cup, why can't presidential debate candidates

[katmai]

The Bills actually look pretty good.

it was the Niners.

[derspiess]

The Bills actually look pretty good.

it was the Niners.

USA!!  USA!!  USA!!

[Berkut]

The Bills actually look pretty good.

it was the Niners.

So?

They are 4-2, that by definition is at the very least "pretty good".

[katmai]

The Bills actually look pretty good.

it was the Niners.

So?

They are 4-2, that by definition is at the very least "pretty good".

i just mean the Niners make everyone look good

[alfred russel]

Derspeiss, I'm interested if you saw this story and your thoughts.

http://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4796733/bill-belichick-im-done-with-the-tablets-just-cant-take-it-anymore

[derspiess]

Derspeiss, I'm interested if you saw this story and your thoughts.

http://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4796733/bill-belichick-im-done-with-the-tablets-just-cant-take-it-anymore

Specifically in regards to him, he's so old school in his personal ways that we thought out of all coaches he'd be the holdout, using paper pictures and never bothering to touch a tablet.  But up until now he's been one of the few NFL head coaches you see using them.

I keep 16 tablets on my sideline, and have generally found them to be pretty dependable.  Probably 70% of the time there is an issue it's operator error (they switch to stylus mode and then complain about not being able to use their finger).  The other 20% it's something simple like the tablet just needs a force-connect to the server.  The other 10% it's something I can't diagnose-- the tablet just crashes and reboots for some reason. 

I've seen usage of the tablets increase about twofold over last year; the younger coaches particularly like them.  And if/when we get video on them, everyone will want one.

One other thing-- not all stadiums' sideline technicians (purple hats) are created equal.  Where I work, we have three bona fide IT professionals with more certs than I can count.  Plus me.  I'm just an IT project manager so I don't have the specializations they have, but I know enough to be dangerous.

Many other stadiums tend to be staffed by guys who just happened to have the right connections (kind of like me but some of them barely know how to turn on a PC, let alone log into a server, start/restart services, diagnose datacomm issues, etc.).  So they not only have difficulty troubleshooting simple issues-- at times they make things way worse and cause the more publicized issues.

[alfred russel]

If the tablets just show pictures, what is their advantage over pictures?

Also, why do they have non human errors?

Thanks for the info, it is interesting. I'm amused by the thought of Bill Belichick selecting stylus mode and then freaking out and slamming down the tablet when he can't use his finger.

[CountDeMoney]

I'm just an IT project manager so I don't have the specializations they have, but I know enough to be dangerous.

lol, management.  "AGILE? Well, not as much as I used to be, especially with this knee. You know how it is."

[grumbler]

Someone has to take the air out of the Brady brigade.

If the guy played like he picked presidential candidates, he'd be quarterbacking the Bungles.

[dps]

Where's this week's thread?

The Seahawks and Cardinals just set the NFL back more than a week, at any rate.  More like 75 years, probably.  At the very least, they set place-kicking back 50 years.

[derspiess]

If the tablets just show pictures, what is their advantage over pictures?

They're in color, you can zoom, they're sorted neatly by series, and you have every play with with both angles on the tablet.  Any coach can pick up any tablet and select his profile from the drop-down and bam, he gets his pictures sorted and from the angle he wants.  The younger coaches love them.

Older coaches love their black & white paper pictures.  Some of them keep them all in a binder divided by series, some just get each series run out to them stapled together and throw them away when they're finished looking at them.

But what's going to eventually kill paper pictures is when they figure out how to reliably push video out to 16 devices at once.  We've tested video during the last two preseasons and it's a hugely popular with the coaches, as you can imagine.  Problem is getting all that data out in a timely manner through wifi.  Works great in a lab; less so in a game sideline situation.  Gigabit Ethernet seems to do okay, but then you have the logistical nightmare of moving tablets back and forth throughout the game.

Also, why do they have non human errors?

Not sure what you mean.

Thanks for the info, it is interesting. I'm amused by the thought of Bill Belichick selecting stylus mode and then freaking out and slamming down the tablet when he can't use his finger.

I had... some issues with mine yesterday.  Not sure if it's the latest firmware or hardware, but had to send three back to MS for replacement

[CountDeMoney]

Where's this week's thread?

Mailed it in.  Like the Ravens' season.  Maybe next week.

[alfred russel]

Derspeiss, I probably just don't appreciate the IT problems.

The actual game, with lots of replays etc., gets broadcast real time and just by connecting a tablet to a streaming service you can get it on a device in real time with near perfect reliability (assuming you have a good network). The challenge of getting a handful of pictures onto a tablet in less than real time seems much less.

[derspiess]

Derspeiss, I probably just don't appreciate the IT problems.

The actual game, with lots of replays etc., gets broadcast real time and just by connecting a tablet to a streaming service you can get it on a device in real time with near perfect reliability (assuming you have a good network). The challenge of getting a handful of pictures onto a tablet in less than real time seems much less.

Yep, seems dead simple in theory.  But sometimes you have a tablet that just decides to stop trying to communicate with the server.  Sometimes a service or process on the server hiccups or gets stuck and you have to restart it.  Sometimes you have two or three large NFL player bodies between the wifi antenna and tablet that interrupt the signal.  Sometimes early in the season the temperature is well into the 90s and you have tablets overheating.  Sometimes it rains cats and dogs and the supposedly waterproofed devices get soaked.  Sometimes there's a stadium power issue (that was the root cause of the two most publicized incidents last year).

We've found that the sweet spot is about 8 devices connected to the server; get above that and things start slowing down a bit. if you get the maximum allowed 13 devices out in circulation on the bench it can really strain the server.

For me most games are uneventful.  Occasionally I have to manually reconnect a "stuck" device or help with operator error-type situations, but most of the time I can catch most of the game as I'm monitoring my tablets. 

[CountDeMoney]

Yeah, could definitely see how an NFL game would wreak major havoc on trying to maintain Wi-Fi connectivity down on the field.  So many environmental obstacles, you'd start irradiating everyone.   

BW photos and zip lines FTW