NBC online Olympic coverage excludes millions of Apple Mac users

NBC’s online coverage of The 2008 Summer Olympics from Beijing, China relies on Microsoft’s Silverlight 2.0b2 which is an Adobe Flash competitor (and a beta, no less!) that also happens to exclude millions of PowerPC-based Apple Mac users:

Contact:

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Paul” for the heads up.]

“Hey, let’s exclude a major portion of the Mac user base since they’re better educated and make more money than the Windows schlubs, to whom, of course, we’ll cater like the whores that we are — our advertisers will love it!”

Whoever’s making the technical (and business decisions) over at NBC is obviously an idiot.

Related articles:
Amidst Apple iTunes Store standoff, NBC offers up TV shows on Microsoft’s Zune – May 06, 2008

77 Comments

  1. For those who make fun of PPC users, take a dump.

    I have a dual 2.3 G5, the first version. It works fine, does what I need it to do, get play WoW and have not had any problems with it.
    I do not use MS products, have no need to watch TV on my computer (thats why I have a TV).
    Do I want an Intel? Yes. Do I need an Intel? No. When I do then I’ll buy one.
    But in the meantime, my machine works fine, thats why I buy Apple. They just keep working

  2. “I couldn’t care less about the Olympics.”

    _______________

    Shouldn’t that say “I could care less about the Olympics?” Anyway, if that’s the case then why even bother posting in this thread?

    This is about PPC people who may have missed an event on TV. The only place to view Olympic events after they’ve happened is on NBC’s site, which uses Silverlight as the default player.

  3. ‘Making a browser-specific web site is fucking lame already. Going the extra mile to refuse the SAME browser on a different processor is sheer incompetence.”

    ————–

    Do you mean like MobileMe.com not working on IE?

  4. Dear Retarded Failed Grammar Nazi:

    Why is it that people that feel the greatest need to correct the grammar usage of others understand the least about grammar?

    No, you retarded moron, the phrase is not “I could care less.” If you say you “could care less” that means that you care somewhat. Or a lot. Or a whole bunch. The original phrase is, “I couldn’t care less.” Which means exactly what it says–I don’t give a flaming rat’s ass. It is originally a British saying that got scrambled when adopted in the United States, and the U.S. version is one of those nonsense sayings that can never be translated directly into another language because, oddly enough, when the phrase was adopted in the U.S. the negative was removed but the meaning stayed the same.

    Personally, I avoid the whole mess by stating, “I care nothing…” which I did in my original post. That phrasing doesn’t have any colloquial charm, but it at least disarms smarmy failed grammar nazis whose estimation of their knowledge of the English language is not on even keel with their actual knowledge.

  5. Dear Gypsy, couldn’t resist:

    For those who make fun of horse drawn carriage users, take a dump.

    I have two lovely horses and a perfectly good carriage. They works fine, do what I need them to do, they get me to the golf course and have not had any problems with they.
    I do not use automobiles, have no need to get anywhere faster then the horses can take me (thats why I have a whip).
    Do I want a car? Yes. Do I need a car? No. When I do then I’ll buy one.
    But in the meantime, my horses work fine, that’s why I buy horses. They just keep working. And when they stop they make good dog food and glue.

  6. ” It is originally a British saying that got scrambled when adopted in the United States,”

    Nope. People used the phrase correctly in the United States for many decades. It looks to me like a generational problem, as I’ve seen the same mistake made by young brits, too.

    -jcr

  7. @spazz – what are you talking about? – I bought a G4 back in 2002 and you aught to be grateful that you are still able to upgrade your G3 while there is still stock of something sooo old. $75 sounds like a bargain. Stop whining

  8. There is a version of Silverlight that will run on PPC Macs and that is the version Microsoft should have been wanting people to download and try since it would cover the greatest number of people. Beta software should not be forced on to people.

    Most IT Departments around the world are not going to install Beta software. This means all those people at work are missing out as well whether they are Mac or PC.

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