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2008 Olympics Aiming For Open Source 100

Posted by Zonk from the penguins-in-sweatbands dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The IOC is considering switching its IT infrastructure to an open source platform for the 2008 Beijng Games, according to an article on silicon.com. The Olympic IT program director says the move will save money on licences but warned that support costs for open source in China could yet derail the plans. There are also some photos of the Olympics IT operation."
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2008 Olympics Aiming For Open Source More

2008 Olympics Aiming For Open Source

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  • Because (Score:4, Funny)

    by sloths ( 909607 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:31PM (#14174555)
    If they used Windows it would all be illegal copies.

  • Microsoft (Score:3, Funny)

    by mikejz84 ( 771717 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:31PM (#14174558)
    I would just stick with Microsoft products in China, after the licences costs are....free!

    • Re:Microsoft (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      support costs for open source in China could yet derail the plans

      Where the hell are they going to find support for less than in China?

  • Ironic... (Score:4, Funny)

    by ThatGeek ( 874983 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:33PM (#14174572) Homepage
    It's ironic. Really.

    All this time I've been complaining how they don't let real amateur athletes in (they all practice non-stop for years under corporate sponsorship), when I should have been complaining that the Olympics doesn't let real amateur software in instead.

    • Re:Ironic... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      As one of these "not real" amateur atheletes in wrestling, how do you expect us to get the proper amount of training time in if we do not use sponsorships? Many atheletes use donations from friends and families, very few use corporate sponsors and they may only provide a small amount of assistance with competition fees. Every athlete not living at the OTC still has to have a job in addition to training full time. Earning $12k per year and putting your body through hell is not a cushy experience.

      Now, the hoc
    • The amateuer/pro thing really depends on the sport (and the country).
      Non topstar athletes might have some sort of additional support (a state sponsored coach, paid travel expenses) but often also a - maybe part time - job.
      I know some cases where the athlete mentioned his/her employer's support in an interview ("..am happy and want to thank my friends, family and boss at $villageBank for giving me the the time to prepare yaddayadda").

      In Germany it's also not that unusual to have "athlete soldiers" that e
  • I've got to say the photos at least were rather disappointing - a few (three) shots of some terminals, two totally unrelated ones, and that was it. No actual server racks or anything, which would have been what I'd actually be interested in seeing.
    • I dont think the server racks that will be used in 2008 exist yet...
    • This close to the games, most of that equipment will have been moved to its respective venue and to other "undisclosed" locations. That allows them to start performing technical rehersals from where the action will actually take place. Pending availability of the venues, of course.

      However, before the games, while they're performing integration testing on all of the software, the amount of equipment that they stuff into the integration test lab is impressive. I spent 14 months in the integration test lab for

  • sure.... the real story (Score:4, Funny)

    by mAIsE ( 548 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:35PM (#14174579) Homepage
    Negotiations are not going well with m$ ;)

  • Great... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Universal Nerd ( 579391 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:39PM (#14174603)
    I find it obvious that they have absolutely no intention of changing from legacy MS-centric software to free software (be it what it may). Free software has oficially become a bargaining chip for corporations that want to bring down the cost of Microsoft solutions.

    I think it's a bad move to REALLY throw the yoke on Microsoft. The IOC being savy business men they are, smell MS's fears in the air and they threaten Microsoft's costs down - just like AOL did with them a little while ago:

    AOL: LOL! M$, lower your prices or we'll use Mozilla, it'z 1337! ROFLMO!!!!1
    Microsoft: O RLY? Here!
    AOL: w00t. U teh r0x0rZ!!!
    Microsoft: WTF?

    • Sensationist title..It doesn't appear that they are considering changing anything yet. Only that someone is going to submit a proposal to change.

    • Re:Great... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by tonyr60 ( 32153 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:58PM (#14174690)
      Obviously you know more about Atos Origin than I can find. The article refers to UNIX servers and looking at systems vacancies at Atos Origin, they are looking for lots of UNIX systems admins. And from a press blurb about the last olympic games "We're putting together an architecture that's quite big for a short period, but that's how it works. We have around 10,000 desktops, 500 laptops, 400 Unix servers, plus another 450 Windows servers."

      I get the impression that the typical olympics IT infrastructure selection is based on business requirements.

      • Re:Great... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by grcumb ( 781340 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @06:57PM (#14175609) Homepage Journal

        "We're putting together an architecture that's quite big for a short period, but that's how it works. We have around 10,000 desktops, 500 laptops, 400 Unix servers, plus another 450 Windows servers."

        That's kind of interesting, because the linked story offers the following numbers:

        The IT behind the Olympics is a massive operation involving some 1,200 IT team members, including 800 volunteers, who run 450 Intel-based servers and Unix boxes, 4,700 PCs and 700 printers.

        Anyway, that leads me to the point I want to make:

        I've been promoting FOSS on Linux professionally since 1998, but this kind of muddiness always makes me question the wisdom of change. Not from a quality or philosphical standpoint, mind you, but from the perspective of protecting the clients from themselves.

        See, here we are at the end of 2005, and the IOC is thinking about moving to FOSS and Linux by 2008. If they intend to move all 10,500 PCs and the functionality of ~900 servers to from proprietary software FOSS and run a 24-7 terrorist-proof operation with global reach, hooking into countless other data systems... They are, not to put too fine a point on it, terminally stupid. Any system-wide change this large should be the result of very careful study. Note especially the part where it says the IT system has approximately 2 volunteers for every single paid staff member. Try to imagine what the training would be like if the software isn't spot-on in its interface design.

        BUT... if they're looking at re-working a few key systems in order to improve their robustness and lower their costs, then I would say that they've made an inspired choice that shows perceptiveness and leadership. 8^)

        And that's the problem with much tech industry 'journalism' these days. We are given almost no useful details. I long for the days when a journalist's response to an ignorant readership was to educate them rather than to gloss over details.

        • run a 24-7 terrorist-proof operation

          Be serious, most computers are not secured against spyware let alone the James Bond movie "cyberterrorist". As for the existance of the "cyberterrorist" - most real terrorists have shown themselves to be incapable of building a remote control or timer for their bombs. There are criminals that use computers, but the science fiction name "cyberterrorist" doesn't fit anyone anywhere as yet.

          As for the time scale to implement - why not? We are in the age of the web applica

    • Well at least in the longer run it will hurt Microsoft if ALL its big clients start threatening them with Open Source bogeyman... which in turn means less money for them to use to try to buy out their competitors in all the other fields they're investing in, one example being the $126 hit per XBox 360 they sell http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/23 / 1549209&from=rss [slashdot.org]

      Some companies will go through with their threats, some won't, but either way it's a victory for OSS everytime this scenario i

      • But no matter how much discount microsoft give, they`re still raking in huge profits from the sale.. Their initial development costs have long since been recovered and the cost of generating a "license code" is virtually nothing.

  • color me whaaa? (Score:3, Funny)

    by God'sDuck ( 837829 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:44PM (#14174624)
    wonderful...open-source domain checking to guarantee Americas can only watch short clips of female figure-skating and assorted athlete bios. my heart fluttereth with joy.

  • Impressive cooling system (Score:4, Funny)

    by DavidV ( 167283 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:47PM (#14174634)
    These guys must be into some serious overclocking by the look of their cooling system.

    http://hardware.silicon.com/servers/0,39024647,391 54787-3,00.htm [silicon.com]

  • Security? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by TubeSteak ( 669689 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:48PM (#14174644) Journal
    Anyone else see all the makings of a security disaster?

    "This led to wireless networks being banned for previous games but that too is set to change for Beijing in 2008... The technology has become mature and we will use Cisco's network admin control."

    Unless Cisco is doing something we don't know about, Wifi security is nothing to rely on.

    "Biometric fingerprint-controlled door locks will guard entry to the Olympics IT control room run by the International Olympic Committee's technology partner Atos Origin."

    Slashdot has run numerous articles about how easy it is to bypass fingerprint biometrics.

    I'm sure they aren't telling us everything about their security preparations, but the technology they're using isn't encouraging.
    • From the parent:
      "Biometric fingerprint-controlled door locks will guard entry to the Olympics IT control room run by the International Olympic Committee's technology partner Atos Origin."

      Where does it say this in the article? The article specifically mentions that biometrics will NOT be used.
      • It's in the pictures' commentary. [silicon.com]

        Biometric fingerprint-controlled door locks will guard entry to the Olympics IT control room run by the International Olympic Committee's technology partner Atos Origin. From here they will monitor the technology infrastructure and all the systems controlling accreditation, security and competition data and results for commentators and the media. A team of 250 Atos Origin staff will run the operation supported by some 800 IT volunteers.
        Photo: Andy McCue

    • Unless Cisco is doing something we don't know about, Wifi security is nothing to rely on.

      WiFi security is actually very good [wikipedia.org] these days. Even WEP can be quite secure if you use TKIP or something similar.

      Slashdot has run numerous articles about how easy it is to bypass fingerprint biometrics.

      That depends on how they're used.

      I'm sure they aren't telling us everything about their security preparations, but the technology they're using isn't encouraging.

      Neither is it discouraging. Very secure sys

    • "The technology has become mature and we will use Cisco's network admin control."

      Unless Cisco is doing something we don't know about, Wifi security is nothing to rely on.

      I've looked up Cisco's Network Admission Control framework [cisco.com], and it reminds me of the TCG's Trusted Network Connect specification.

  • Is this a story yet? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TrappedByMyself ( 861094 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @02:53PM (#14174668)
    The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games could switch to a cost-saving open source technology platform under proposals to be considered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
    The open source move will be recommended by the IOC's technology partner Atos Origin on the back of guidance from sub-contractors that include HP and IBM.
    Claude Philipps, programme director at Atos Origin for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, told silicon.com the plans will be put to the IOC in a formal proposal and that the committee will then make the final decision.
    He said: "For open source we have a plan to propose this for Beijing. It will save money on the licences."
    But he said support costs could scupper the open source switch. "The issue might be support because especially in China you don't have all the companies we have in Europe and the US," he said.
    I know the OSS advocates will wave their victoy flags, write eloquent stories about the demise of Microsoft, and rack up free karma, but nothing has happened yet. Moves like this are considered all the time when someone thinks they can save money with all this 'free' software. Hopefully with IBM in the mix, this will actually happen, but for now this really isn't a story. Come back when the decision is made.
  • China has huge resources and any OS development could go quite rapid.

    But China is as well the worlds #1 for censorship, so the next development is an OS firewall?
    Olympic sized of course :)

  • Screw the Olympics (Score:2, Interesting)

    by British ( 51765 )
    It seems the Olympics consists of excessive commercialism(ie branding, etc), local businesses hiking prices when the olympics come to their town, and incredibly draconian actions taken in regards of broadcasts, etc.

    Screw the Olympics...

    Wait, someone's knocking on my door. Shit, it's the IOC secret police!

  • Their IT guy (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Here [nata2.info] is an interview with their IT guy.

    • Re:Their IT guy (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      How the hell did parent get modded informative??!!?!?!?!?!?! I could understand funny, but this is rediculous.

      Mods...DID YOU EVEN BOTHER TO FOLLOW THE LINK?!?!?!

  • What about 2010? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If the IOC is unable to change in time for the 2008 Olympics, hopefully they will still make the change for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

    That would really put me in demand for local jobs ;)

    • Vancouver is too close to Redmond (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I wonder if the proximity of Vancouver to Redmond will lead to any sweetheart deals being made with MS for 2010...
  • On first sight, I thought, "the title is proof that the editors are on crack."
    • My first thought on reading the topic was that the IOC made a new event where you shoot at Linux discs with guns.

  • Drug Testing (Score:3, Insightful)

    by MicroBerto ( 91055 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @03:35PM (#14174825)
    How about some open source drug testing? Opening the whole thing up, making it completely public, would really help with cheating and all the other dirty garbage that goes on behind the scenes.
    • How about some open source drug testing? Opening the whole thing up, making it completely public, would really help with cheating and all the other dirty garbage that goes on behind the scenes.

      What exactly do you mean by that? That they should publish exactly how they do drug testing so more athletes can cheat, more dirty garbage can go on behind the scenes? If athletes knew with certainty that a drug could or could not be tested for, where do you think that would lead? It would certainly lead to the illusi

  • Does anybody even care about the Olympics? (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    When I was a kid (back in the '70s) we used to sit and watch it darn near from the opening ceremony to the closing one, but that was back when you had almost uninterrupted coverage of just about every event.

    Now all you get is a couple of hours of highlights (and almost entirely track events) at most after the regular sports news, and even that tiny offering is just crap about doping scandals, smothered in commercial breaks.

    I honestly don't know anybody who really gives a shit about the Olympic Games anymore
  • Marathon [bungie.org] has been open source for some time now.
  • I'm just curious to see how all of the participating countries will react to this. Foremost in my mind is France with their recent hostile stance on OSS:
    http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/02/20 40237&tid=123&tid=185&tid=219&tid=106/ [slashdot.org]
    If they're treating the publishing of free software as a criminal offense, how are they going to react to this? It's hard to see them boycotting, but if they don't protest in some way their policy makers will come off looking highly hypocritical.

  • I call FUD! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by kimvette ( 919543 )
    I think they've fallen for Microsoft's Get the Facts FUD campaign.

    support costs for open source in China could yet derail the plans

    How could that be? Does Google charge per search result in China or something? Are "man" and "info" unavailable in Chinese distributions? Is censorship so strong that users cannot get to related messageboards and mailing lists? *just kidding*

    Seriously though - it seems to me that they'd still come out ahead if they have to pay for support. After all with a proprietary/closed so

  • IOC = corruption (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DNS-and-BIND ( 461968 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @04:39PM (#14175064) Homepage
    Oh, come on. This is the International Olympic Committee that we're talking about here. They're more corrupt than the city of New Orleans. They don't do anything unless someone bribes them to do it. My guess is, the IT contractors aren't offering big enough kickbacks, and they're waving the OSS option around in order to get more money.

    And there's the whole Great Firewall issue to deal with. How will the Chinese government deal with it? I don't think that journalists will like having the BBC blocked. Perhaps they'll unblock the space allocated to the Olympic village. But, even then, I don't know if the Great Firewall is technically capable of this. Even five-star hotels catering to foreigners are blocked, and they can show satellite news stations that are off-limits to Chinese nationals.

  • for the right job? Why does picking an IT solution have to be an ideological endeavor?

  • code reuse (Score:3, Interesting)

    by hey ( 83763 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @04:44PM (#14175084) Journal
    Why can't they just put the entire olypmics IT dept in a few shipping containers and ship it from city to city?! What a waste to redevelop/deploy it again every two years.

    • Re:code reuse (Score:2, Informative)

      by TheMightyZog ( 228867 )
      They sort of do that, to a point. Atos Origin, formerly SchlumbergerSema, formerly Sema, was contracted to provide the IT services for four games starting with the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The software for the 2002 games was written from scratch (since IBM had performed that duty in previous games) and those systems will evolve through to the Beijing games in 2008.

      There could probably be some good arguments for having the IOC take control of the IT services, or a portion of them, but I believe t
  • I can imagine any number of people/companies being willing to do the setup and maintainance free of charge, just for the karma.

    The IOC will have to provide the hardware is all.

    As usual, "support" means "sponsorship" and "take all the blame when it goes tits up".

  • has given me a pretty clear indication of AO's hostile attitude towards open source. I have heard this from other sources as well. Is AO really listening to it's engineer's this time or is this just a PR stunt by a company looking for exposure? After past experiences with AO never even considering OSS as part of a solution, I wouldn't think they'd have much credibility here, though I'd love to hear differently.

  • Working as a Olympic Volunteer (Score:5, Informative)

    by paul.schulz ( 75696 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @05:33PM (#14175243) Homepage
    In the Sydney 2000 Olympics I worked as a volunteer in
    the Sports Results section in Adelaide, South Australia.
    We had 6 of the football (soccer) matches and one final.

    Our small team had to:
    - Print the start lists of players when they came through
        at beginning of the matches
    - (Watch the game.. a perk)
    - Print the results of all the matches played around
        Austalia at the end.

    The printouts (100's) were then run out to the various
    people who needed them around the venue. eg. Game Results,
    Media, Olympic Family (VIP's)

    It was a low tech result, but it relied on IBM software
    for the print jobs, and was centrally managed/controlled
    on their network. Everything went through Sydney.

    I don't know what would have happened if the network
    had failed, other than we also had been given a Fax machine
    as a backup.

    It was a good experience, and FLOSS should be able to bring
    somethign to the table...

    W

  • Good News For the OSS Commercial Companies (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Master of Transhuman ( 597628 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @05:57PM (#14175328) Homepage
    Just think of all the "Linux Rules!" ads that IBM and others can run during the Olympics, all sending the message "If the Olympics can run on open source, why can't my company?"

    Ballmer must be throwing chairs. All his underhanded sneaky PR tricks in the IT trade press trumped by the Olympic coverage.

    Bwahahahahahah!!!

    And there's a new PENGUIN movie coming out! I saw the trailer the other night during "Harry Potter". Penguins dancing!

    Between the "Madagascar" movie, the "March of the Penguins" and now this, penguins are gonna be the most loved animal on the planet before long...Linus must have been prescient (as well as bitten) to pick them as the Linux mascot.

  • Medal Events? (Score:4, Funny)

    by SleepyHappyDoc ( 813919 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @07:01PM (#14175634)
    "And the gold medal for kernel hacking goes to...."

    I can dream, can't i?

  • And the millions of bootlegged MS CD's...? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gelfling ( 6534 ) on Saturday December 03, 2005 @08:45PM (#14176109) Homepage Journal
    I mean this IS China, riiiight? Can you imagine if it turned out the entire games were run on pirated software...?
  • ``The Canadian Special Olympics 2000 Winter Games used several NetBSD servers to provide connectivity, file storage, and backup. At the main office, a NetBSD server provided shared and secure Internet dial service for up to 20 machines, as well as file storage and automated off-site backups from June 1999. As the Games approached, several other NetBSD servers were set up on lan's at the various event venues to provide Internet service for event officials, the media, and the athletes. These servers allow off

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