- Microsoft surface pro 4 keyboards nfl broncos full#
- Microsoft surface pro 4 keyboards nfl broncos software#
Hearing stuff like the announcers referred to their Microsoft Surfaces as iPads for the first couple of seasons is just icing on the cake. They make billions annually but even partnered with Microsoft they cannot satisfy their coaches with their technology.
Microsoft surface pro 4 keyboards nfl broncos full#
They can't give teams full control of their devices because there are too many cheaters. They can't give teams their choice of technology because of sponsors who bought the whole league. The only good thing about sports in my opinion for the last 15-20 years is when there's a good scandal and NFL coaches turning on a major sponsor ranks right up there.
They didn't move to Florida, but they did move to Tennessee. The labor disputes weren't enough for me, but when the owner started threatening to move to Florida I started getting turned off. Yeah, call me naive for not figuring that out sooner.
Then it slowly dawned on me that my favorite team wasn't owned by people who cared about winning. This is a tool that can actually make an impact on the game if it succeeds or fails. This is nothing like "official coffee of the NFL". They should have an opportunity to use their choice of technology when it comes to tools used in course of the game (within reasonable limits, of course). Moreover, I really dislike the NFL pushing tools like this on the teams. It was risky to push something like this when there was a chance for very public and visible failures like that, even if it's not necessarily Microsoft's fault. I'd agree though, that this is something that Microsoft should have considered.
Microsoft surface pro 4 keyboards nfl broncos software#
I think it's human nature to blame the software or hardware sitting in front of them rather than some invisible infrastructure sitting in-between. I've seen that, as an MMO developer, whenever an ISP has a problem, people immediately blame the developer for whatever lag or disconnectivity they're experiencing. Given that these things obviously rely on wireless info feeds, and (as you indicated) that such wireless or communication systems fail in stadiums on occasion, I'm not sure I'd be so quick to blame the hardware or software.
This isn't really a new story, as these sorts of glitches have been happening on occasion since being introduced. I'm going to guess that those who complain about them don't (or even can't) distinguish crashes or freezes from connectivity issues. The NFL issued a statement calling Microsoft "an integral, strategic partner of the NFL," adding "Within our complex environment, many factors can affect the performance of a particular technology either related to or outside of our partner's solutions." sports media interpreted that the malfunction benefited the Broncos on the field, giving the team an unfair advantage - the very last thing Microsoft's tablets, meant to aid coaches in their play calling, should be doing." The tablets failed to work during a crucial AFC Championship game last January - again for the New England Patriots. Friday the coach of the San Francisco 49ers and their controversial quarterback Colin Kaepernick both complained they've also experienced problems, with Kaepernick saying the screen freezes "every once in a while and they have to reboot it."įriday Microsoft called their tablet "the center of the debate on the role of technology in the NFL," saying they deeply respect NFL teams "and the IT pro's who work tirelessly behind the scenes to help them succeed." It included quotes from NFL quarterbacks - for example, "Every second counts and having Microsoft Surface technology on sidelines allows players and coaches to analyze what our opponents are trying to do in almost real time." But Yahoo Finance wrote that "The quotes read like they were written by the Microsoft public relations team," arguing that Microsoft's NFL deal "has been a disaster. " These tablets always malfunction," complained one NFL offensive lineman in January, foreshadowing a growing backlash to Microsoft's $400 million deal with the NFL to use Surface tablets.