Watch the Olympics! Right after this series of hurdles
The opening Olympic ceremony in Beijing is underway just don't expect to watch them live. That'll happen later on Friday so the Web doesn't cannibalize TV for NBC. It's one of many hurdles you must clear to watch a little Olympic video.
But I can live with the lack of live Olympic Web video for the kickoff (Techmeme). If you paid a few billion for broadcasting rights you may do the same (for now a gallery will have to do). Onto the hurdles: First there was the Silverlight plug-in for Firefox, but that was to be expected. I could have lived without the browser restart, but whatever.
Also see: Will the Olympics melt the Internet?
Time Warner’s Olympic boost, courtesy NBC
Once Silverlight was installed I had to dance through that quirky TV model. You know the one where you have to kiss the tails of the local affiliates.Hurdle 1: Enter your zip and cable provider so you can let them know you pay for service. In return you get exclusive Web video. Sure you do. NBC is really just letting its partners know that you wouldn't dare watch the Olympics on your laptop instead of the TV.
Hurdle 2: Then you have to narrow down your exact cable provider. This is for TV listings (or market research).
Hurdle 3: Let's double check your local station.
The lesson: Don't clear out those cookies or you'll have to clear these hurdles again.