Bill Belichick Is Done With Microsoft Tablets

[obgod3]

I expect that there are a few problems, Hardware - well the Surface has not had a good record for a lot of folks, Windows 10 has its issues but so does OSX and Linux, unix of whatever versions, then there is communications like mentioned by others - probably a significant factor, then finally the software they use for the NFL tool itself - probably crap software pushed through final release before it was ready, not QA'ed properly, and built by the likes of Wipro or some other software sweat shop then celebrated like they won a gold medal. Communications is a tough one, I am sure the NFL has private networks setup for this, but no matter how much you plan wifi sometimes is just not great but things like bandwidth requirements are something many IT pro's often underestimate, latency, bandwidth availability, overhead on the network, understanding what the software requires for back and forth communications, what we call the basis of requests and acknowledgments of packets and retransmission etc. etc. There are many things that could go wrong here. From what BB stated it seems that he cant do the things he wants on the tablet (god if the idiots at weei would stop calling it a "tab"), it may not be the device at all but the software, coms reliability or good ole fashioned old school stuff BB cant get it to do.

Ok back to work now so I can go fix some software and networks

 

[FourierSeries]

From Mike Reiss -

Microsoft has released the following statement after Bill Belichick's remarks Tuesday on giving up on usage sideline tablet: "We respect Coach Belichick's decision, but stand behind the reliability of Surface. We continue to receive positive feedback on having Surface devices on the sidelines from coaches, players and team personnel across the league. In the instances where sideline issues are reported in NFL games, we work closely with the NFL to quickly address and resolve."

Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer

Belichick's response:

 

[Gumby]

I expect that there are a few problems, Hardware - well the Surface has not had a good record for a lot of folks, Windows 10 has its issues but so does OSX and Linux, unix of whatever versions, then there is communications like mentioned by others - probably a significant factor, then finally the software they use for the NFL tool itself - probably crap software pushed through final release before it was ready, not QA'ed properly, and built by the likes of Wipro or some other software sweat shop then celebrated like they won a gold medal. Communications is a tough one, I am sure the NFL has private networks setup for this, but no matter how much you plan wifi sometimes is just not great but things like bandwidth requirements are something many IT pro's often underestimate, latency, bandwidth availability, overhead on the network, understanding what the software requires for back and forth communications, what we call the basis of requests and acknowledgments of packets and retransmission etc. etc. There are many things that could go wrong here. From what BB stated it seems that he cant do the things he wants on the tablet (god if the idiots at weei would stop calling it a "tab"), it may not be the device at all but the software, coms reliability or good ole fashioned old school stuff BB cant get it to do.

Ok back to work now so I can go fix some software and networks

Yeah, its not like that there are 70,000 smartphone users taking pictures-sending them to friends and all trying to check their fantasy stats during the game who werent there when the nyjfl tested the systems pregame. . . Oh, wait!

 

[PatsDeb]

I can tell you that on top of whatever problems BB was having with the devices, the WiFi sucks at Gillette. Constant buffering even though they've tried to upgrade it.

 

[raduray]

Belichick's response:

Belichick's response would be "Do your job!". Unfortunately, who would he say it to in this case? Normally, it would be the IT guy, but given that he doesn't receive the equipment until just hours before the game, how is he to properly test and configure it? Given the NFL's need for control, one possible solution is to assign an NFL IT guy/team to each stadium and make him responsible for all facets of hardware, software, comms, and integration.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

I've noticed my experience on my iPad to be better than my Win 7 laptop. Shockwave Flash wants to balloon and pop Windows.

 

[borg]

What can a MS techie accomplish during a game? Hand BB new tablets every other play.

PS...PatsFans.com has become one of........

 

[obgod3]

Yeah, its not like that there are 70,000 smartphone users taking pictures-sending them to friends and all trying to check their fantasy stats during the game who werent there when the nyjfl tested the systems pregame. . . Oh, wait!

I would certainly hope the network the NFL is using is not the same one the fans are using....

If the NFL is using the same network then they are just stupid and Ill be happy to be their new CIO.

 

[Big Bucks]

 

[Dragda]

iOS/OSX doesn't impress me either. Linux is vastly superior to both.

As long as you have a full 24 hours to install a printer driver, sure. Vastly superior.

 

[oldrover]

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator

 

[FourierSeries]

As long as you have a full 24 hours to install a printer driver, sure. Vastly superior.

If you choose your printer wisely, you don't need to do anything, as the driver will either already be in the Linux kernel, or the package will be installed by default in the distribution you are using.

 

[The Brandon Five]

As long as you have a full 24 hours to install a printer driver, sure. Vastly superior.

You still print?

 

[nabwong]

ill take the garbage microsoft puts out over the 1984esque closed system IOS uses any day of the week.

Sorry to disagree. I've been a Windows user all my life and used to be a programmer. While I've never been a fan of Mac OS, iOS is great for media consumption. Definitely not for productivity. But if all you do is consume media, then iOS is awesome. Just depends on what your needs are. They all have their strong points. iOS is the most stable of the mobile OS.

 

[deroc5050]

He, and everyone else, should be done with Microsoft products in general, including their OS. Windows is pure garbage, as is pretty much anything else put out by Microsoft.

I need directX, I play PC games so I need windows. Windows 7 was a really good OS, I don't really understand the hate. And the tablets are actually really well made. I have 1 it works great.

 

[Bill Lee]

here's a graphic showing the unix roots of OS X and linux:

Sorry, but it's not an accurate rendition of that part of the heritage. Architecture of macOS - Wikipedia gives us:

So, at the lowest level of OS X you find Mach, with BSD running on top of it. The BSD running there has been modified so it can't run on bare hardware any more. It was something a lot of different projects were doing back in the early 1990s. In particular Digital Equipment Corporation's OSF/1 for the Alpha processor had a similar architecture. I should know, I was working on all of this right here in New England when Bill Parcells decided to come to coach the Patriots...

 

[RobertWeathers]

From his comments, it sounds like his complaints go beyond just Microsoft, though they appear to be the main problem. Sounds to me like there are too many systems that don't work well together and that the entire process has been over-engineered.

A total fail from a Quality Control perspective...in fact, I'd bet that no one individual or company is in charge of making sure that everything works together. They all probably get into a big pissing match with each other trying to blame everybody else.

Sounds to me like he was taking direct aim at the NFL game day ops poo bahs

 

[RobertWeathers]

Wow, so much conjecture here. Blaming the device when you do not even know the root problem. The problem is most likely NOT the hardware. The interface and communication between devices is the problem and likely there may be network and possible software issues as well. Heck if the headsets cannot work, why would you expect tablets to work better?

Belichick wants the information at his finger tips and instantaneous. The interface is probably similar to EMR's in that there is a wealth of information, but it is not organized well, and not easy to access. No different than a senior doctor preferring paper charts.

Yea Bill threw the NFL ops people under the bus.

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

I would certainly hope the network the NFL is using is not the same one the fans are using....

If the NFL is using the same network then they are just stupid and Ill be happy to be their new CIO.

Why would you ever want to work for the NFL?

 

[deroc5050]

The more I think about it I am surprised Bill opened his mouth about the tablets. I would have thought he would just quietly stop using them and use the old fashioned method. He opened his mouth for a reason, he knows the NFL has a huge deal with MS. I just don't really know what the reason is.