Web Guide to Athens Olympics
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Hungry for updates from Athens? Click here for coverage.
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The Greek government says  this year's Olympic Games in Athens cost 8.8bn euros  -  almost double the original estimate.
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New York, Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow submitted their final bids to be host of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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(InfoWorld) - When Beijing won the right to host theÂ 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officials promised to use it as a showcase for new technology and China's economic development. But the reality is that while the games will display the world's top athletic talent, it will be using old, mature technologies. A lot of new technologies, and even some mature ones, have already beenÂ cut from the roster. Microsoft Windows Vista, for example, won't be the OS used on any of the PCs responsible for vital functions at the Olympics; its predecessor Windows XP will. WLAN (wireless LAN) didn't make the grade either. All networking for the games will be done by wireline. Officials have even prepared a mobile Web site for the Olympics based on WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), instead of GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) or 3G (third generation). The site is designed to provide up-to-the-minute scoring information, and it's already online. "We're only using proven technologies at the games," said Hou Xinyi, deputy director of the technology department at the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, which has taken the acronym, BOCOG. If China's 3G system is up and running by the end of this year, the official Web site for mobile users will be more useful to people, he added. So far,Â China hasn't said when it will start issuing 3G licenses. The nice thing about WAP is its reliability and usability. Most wireless networks can be used with it, including CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), and most OSes allow people to read information from WAP sites. It's just not as fast as 3G, not by a long shot. But while the technology may be lacking, attendees to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will be treated to some spectacular design work. Not only are some of the stadiums being built for the games unique -- and unusual for Beijing -- the torch to be used in the round-the-world relay is also easy on the eyes. And it was developed by a PC vendor, China's own Lenovo Group. Lenovo won the design contest for the 2008 Olympic torch. The company's PC designers came up with a 72 centimeter tall, 985 gram aluminum torch in the shape of an ancient Chinese scroll. The torch is two colors, split in half in the same manner as the Yin-Yang symbol, said Y.J. Yao, a vice president at Lenovo and head of the design teams. The upper half of the torch is silver with cloud designs outlined in red, while the lower half is red, covered by a special paint with a rubbery feel, a no-slip safeguard so runners won't drop it if they're sweating during their 400-meter portion of the global torch run. Originally, the company thought about using a dragon design on the top of the torch, but "the dragon is a symbol for the emperor, not for everyone, so we can't accept the dragon," Yao said. The cloud is for everyone, and represents the coming together of heaven and earth, he added. The name of the torch is the Cloud of Promise. The form of the torch -- the scroll design -- denotes paper, a useful item and a Chinese invention, Yao said. The color was chosen via a survey. "We asked, what color is China? Over 99 percent of respondents said red," Yao said. The color represents fire and warmth, friendliness and luck. People who like pictures of the torch might be interested in buying one of the laptop PCs Lenovo designed using the torch colors and styles. The company plans to auction off 2008 of them online and donate the proceeds to charity. EbayÂ is helping with the auction, but it won't be an eBay URL (uniform resource locator), said Yao. "We have a passion for the Olympic Games," Yao said. "You know, when it's happening in your city, you have a passion for this." The other top Olympic-related design work has gone into the new National Stadium, referred to by many as the Bird's Nest due to its unorthodox construction. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games will take place in the stadium. The exterior of the 91,000 seat stadium resembles a bird's nest, a steel exoskeleton wrapped around the outside of the site. The design is bold, and striking. It's hard to tell how it's going over with local Beijing residents, though. Many complain that there's nothing Chinese about it and one of the best comments this reporter heard on a recent trip to the city was "I guess it will take some getting used to." Beside the Bird's Nest is the National Aquatics Center, where all swimming and water sports events will take place. Based on the geometry of water bubbles and crystals, the center was nicknamed the Water Cube because of the design of its light blue and white outer membrane. The Cloud of Promise, Bird's Nest and Water Cube are all attempts at innovative design. Unfortunately, the technology used at the games won't be quite so bold. Â
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The final cost of the Athens Olympics soared to about $11.6 billion -- at least $3.1 billion more than originally estimated. The figure did not include transportation projects such as the new tram line, suburban
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Chicago and six other cities from four continents are officially in the race to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee said it had received formal applications from Chicago; Baku, Azerbaijan; Doha, Qatar; Madrid; Prague; Rio de Janeiro; and Tokyo. Thursday was the deadline to submit applications.
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Description: NPR&#39;s Robert Siegel and Wall Street Journal sports writer Stefan Fatsis, reporting from Athens, talk about some of the highlights of this week&#39;s Olympic Games events.
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In order to ease congestion and ensure the people that really need to get to the events, such as the officials, athletes and media, arrive on time Athens 2004 have made a dedicated Olympic lane along their major highways between ...
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Olympic athletes may be allowed to blog for the first time at the 2008 Beijing Games.
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[World News]: London, Nov 20 :London has launched its bid to host the 2012 Olympics with a pledge that it would be &quot;the best Games the world has ever seen&quot;.
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Greece, an ancient nation, searched its  soul over a new doping scandal on Saturday while Michael  Phelps, a fresh-faced American teenager, prepared to enter the  Olympic record books without having to swim a stroke. The  Olympics started its eighth day with 32 gold medals up for  grabs in what has been dubbed ~Super Saturday.~
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The coral-and-sea-colored Athens 2004 banners had been raised. The ancient stadium that hosts the Olympic shot put competition today had been fitted with a security camera and hardwood stands for visiting dignitaries. The remodeled and air-conditioned archeological museum that featured the god-size sculpture of Hermes of Praxiteles had opened. Outdoor booths had been stocked with sharp cheese, ...
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Plentiful buses, helpful volunteers, and efficient security have added up to &#39;positive surprises&#39; for the host city. There are many measures by which to judge the success of an Olympic Games: records broken, medals won, dreams fulfilled or dashed.
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The technical details of London's bid to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics are to be unveiled.
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ATHENS  The United Arab Emirates and India scored Olympic firsts on day four of the Athens Games on Tuesday and there was good news also for host Greece, which landed its second gold of the competition.
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Two months ago when the Mayor of Athens visited London, she told a story about the preparations for the Athens Games. It went like this: a delegation from Athens visited Beijing where the 2008 Games are to be held.
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The final cost of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games, at $11.6 billion, was $3.1 billion more than originally estimated. But according to Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis, the figure does not include