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Microsoft used Silverlight and the beta version of Sharepoint 2010 to give the U.S. Olympic Committee's press site a makeover. (Credit:CNET) Although still in beta, the latest version of Sharepoint has already made it to the Olympics. The United States Olympic Committee relied on the test version of Sharepoint 2010 to power the Web site used to deliver statistics, photos, news, and other information to the many journalists covering the Winter Games in Vancouver. And the results, Microsoft says, were positive. A survey showed that 92 percent of the reporters said they found the site[....]

WHISTLER, B.C.–Leading at the midway point of the four-man bobsled competition, the Night Train sled piloted by Steven Holcomb is aiming to help the United States break a 62-year-old streak without a gold medal in bobsled. Holcomb (Credit:Steven Holcomb) Holcomb and his teammates turned in track record times in both runs on Friday, giving the team a 0.4-second lead over Canada and a 0.44-second lead over a tough German team, piloted by Andre Lange, who is trying to become the first man to twice win the two-man and four-man events at the same Olympics. As a world champion, Holcomb[....]

WHISTLER, B.C–Though clearly excited at winning a gold medal–the first U.S. bobsled gold in 62 years–Steven Holcomb wasn’t quite sure what to say. “I think I’m supposed to say I’m going to Disneyland.” In reality, the avid gamer and computer junkie is far more likely to go home and play Xbox than visit Mickey Mouse. Holcomb (Credit:Steven Holcomb) As for future plans, Holcomb said he wants to stay with bobsled as long as he can. “I’m a lifer,” he told reporters here. Teammate Steve Mesler also said it was impossible to[....]

Teammates Steven Holcomb and Steve Mesler show off their gold medals on Saturday, hours after breaking the United States' 62-year gold medal drought in bobsled. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) WHISTLER, B.C.–Steve Holcomb stood proud as he and his bobsled team were honored with the Americans’ first gold medal in that sport in 62 years. Gold medal run for U.S. bobsled (photos) View the full gallery Then, offstage, he did his now famous Holcy dance. Unfortunately, CBS doesn’t have broadcast rights, so I can’t show you that. But I will put a YouTube video at the[....]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–The good news for Microsoft is that all the PCs powering the Olympics are running Windows. The bad news: it’s the older Windows XP operating system. Windows 7, it seems, was a bit too new to be used, while Windows Vista was, well, Windows Vista. So, instead, all the PCs are running an operating system that was first released before the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. Acer has delivered more than 6,000 computers to Olympic organizers–with all the notebooks and desktops running Windows XP. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) Representatives for Acer confirmed[....]

A Japanese bobsled heads through a turn. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) WHISTLER, B.C.–With snow backdrops and with subjects moving at upwards of 80 miles an hour, Canon figured that the Olympic would be a perfect testing ground for one of its new lenses. The lens, an updated version of its 70-200mm L-series lens, is slated to ship in a few weeks. But Canon made about 300 just for the games to get some feedback and make any last minute tweaks, if necessary. Both Canon and rival Nikon are at the Games, helping photographers with demo lenses and cameras. I took advantage of that, borrowing a[....]

WHISTLER, B.C.–Leading at the midway point of the four-man bobsled competition, the Night Train sled piloted by Steven Holcomb is aiming to help the United States break a 62-year-old streak without a gold medal in bobsled. Holcomb (Credit:Steven Holcomb) Holcomb and his teammates turned in track record times in both runs on Friday, giving the team a 0.4-second lead over Canada and a 0.44-second lead over a tough German team, piloted by Andre Lange, who is trying to become the first man to twice win the two-man and four-man events at the same Olympics. As a world champion, Holcomb[....]

One of the world's fastest bobsleds heads down the track Friday at Whistler Sliding Center. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) WHISTLER, B.C.–American bobsled pilot Steven Holcomb, a master of sport and computers, put his four-man bobsled in strong position to win gold in Vancouver. After two of four runs, Holcomb’s USA-1 team leads by 0.4 seconds over Canada-1 and 0.44 seconds over bobsled legend Andre Lange, who is trying to be the first man to twice win the two-man and four-man events at the same Olympics. Holcomb, who is a computer science major and Microsoft Certified[....]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–It’s been 62 years since the United States claimed a gold medal in bobsled. And this year, our best hope is piloted a computer geek who trains by playing video games. So our chances are pretty good. That’s because, in addition to being a Microsoft Certified Professional and admitted PC nerd, Stephen Holcomb is also the reigning world champion in the four-man bobsled. Plus, he’s got this crazy “Holcy dance” that one just has to see to believe. Holcomb hopes to dance his way on to the medal podium by the time competition wraps[....]

VANCOUVER–Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop looked up as he delivered a presentation to his top managers on Microsoft’s campus on Wednesday. As Elop had been speaking, one of those managers, Kirill Tatarinov, had groaned several times. Stephen Elop shows off his Team Canada jersey. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET ) “Was it something I said,” Elop asked Tatarinov, who runs a division that creates business software for midsize companies. Sheepishly, Tatarinov confessed that he had been watching the Russia-Canada Olympic hockey game. If Tatarinov worked for[....]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–The good news for Microsoft is that all the PCs powering the Olympics are running Windows. The bad news: it’s the older Windows XP operating system. Windows 7, it seems, was a bit too new to be used, while Windows Vista was, well, Windows Vista. So, instead, all the PCs are running an operating system that was first released before the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. Acer has delivered more than 6,000 computers to Olympic organizers–with all the notebooks and desktops running Windows XP. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) Representatives for Acer confirmed[....]

VANCOUVER, B.C.–There’s been a lot of attention in Vancouver about a certain Snow Leopard, but this one comes from a lot farther away than Cupertino, Calif. Ghanan skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, who happens to have the same nickname as Mac OS X 10.6, has won attention as the only representative from the African nation at these Winter Games. The Snow Leopard is slated to race on Saturday in the men’s slalom race at Whistler. Ghanan skier Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, nicknamed the Snow Leopard, seen here with an actual snow leopard. (Credit:Ghanaskiteam.com) Part of his[....]

Thomas Challis, 5, gets a lesson on the finer points of hockey from dad Roger, as the two watched Switzerland's shootout victory over Belarus on Tuesday. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) VANCOUVER, British Columbia–A child’s first hockey game is a right of passage in Canada. And Thomas Challis, 5, of Coquitlam, got an exceptionally good introduction to big time hockey, landing the chance to go with his dad to Tuesday’s match-up between Switzerland and Belarus. Thomas’ Dad, Roger, patiently explained some of the games finer points, such as the difference between linemen[....]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–Less than a century ago, the timing of downhill skiing required someone at the top and bottom of the run, each with a stopwatch synchronized to the time of day. Every few skiers, the timer at the top would send down a piece of paper with the start times of the last few skiers and then some math would ensue, eventually resulting in the time of the run being calculated. Oh, how things have changed. Not only is everything electronic, of course, but the sensors are often tied to the athletes themselves. In speedskating, racers wear a transponder that can[....]

VANCOUVER, B.C.–The advantage of being Omega, in addition to the branding benefit of being the official timekeeper, is you also get access to some really cool photos from the Olympic finish line. And this year, Omega has an even more powerful 2,000-frame-per-second camera to capture those close calls. The folks at Omega were nice enough to share some of the photos from the first week of the games, which I’ve put into a photo gallery. Olympic photo finishes (images) The shots include Seth Wescott narrowly winning the gold medal in snowboard cross and Apolo Anton Ohno edging[....]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–It’s not the Super Bowl, or even the gold medal match-up, but it is most definitely Super Sunday in Canada. That’s because three epic ice hockey battles are on tap, topped by the U.S. and Canada, who square off at 4:30 p.m. PST. The match-up has taken on added importance with the host nation having needed a shootout to defeat Switzerland earlier in the week. All of Canada is ready for Sunday's huge hockey match-up between the host nation and its rival and neighbor to the south. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) As if the pot needed any further[....]

WHISTLER, B.C.–They may be on the same world championship four-man bobsled team, but Steven Holcomb and Steve Mesler are decidedly different when it comes to that all important question: Mac or PC? While his pilot might be a big PC nerd, bobsled pusher Steve Mesler says he is most definitely a Mac guy. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) A computer science major and admitted computer nerd, Holcomb is decidedly in the PC camp, even eschewing the iPod in favor of a Creative Zen player. Mesler, a pusher on Holcomb’s sled, is just as passionate about the Mac. “I’m on the creative[....]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–At a ceremony on Friday night, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was honored for his contributions and put on the spot. Hockey fans gathered at the Molson Hockey House downtown for a tribute to Gretzky but they also wanted to know whether the Great One thought this year’s team has what it takes to win the Olympic hockey tournament. Well, rest comfortable, Canadians. he picked the home team to win gold. Gretzky, who for many is still the face of Canadian Hockey–praised the work of another NHL great–Steve Yzerman–in putting together the team[....]

VANCOUVER, B.C.–When it comes to the controversy over the figure skating gold, Canadian figure skater Patrick Chan sides with American Evan Lysacek. Patrick Chan, speaking to reporters on Friday following his fifth-place finish in men's figure skating. (Credit:Ina Fried/CNET) The decision to award Lysacek the gold, even though Russian Evgeni Plushenko did a quad jump, drew some criticism from some corners, but not from Chan. “He definitely deserved to have won with two great skates,” Chan said, speaking that British Columbia International Media Centre here. “If[....]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–Determined to make a better medal showing on its home soil, Canada has spent millions of dollars over the past several years in an effort to “own the podium.” And a big part of that effort has been a “top secret” program that aims to give the country’s athletes better uniforms and better equipment, as well as access to technology that can help them improve their performance. In the past five years, Canada has invested $8 million exploring anything that might give their athletes a boost, including better materials for uniforms,[....]