Vancouver

Web roots out Vancouver riot's kissing couple

There they were lying in the road making out while all around them a riot was taking place.

Or at least that's how it seemed.

A stunning photograph, taken by Getty's Richard Lam, who has been a little slow in putting it up on his home page, suddenly became as iconic as the Doisneau shot of the couple kissing in Paris.

Who were these people? Why were they lying there kissing? But, most importantly for those who trawl the Web in search of shaming the latest trolls, was this a setup?

So many things seem to be staged … Read more

The 404 841: Where we take our show in vein (podcast)

All this time we thought Justin Yu was in California--but no, in fact, he was up in Vancouver helping destroy the town after the Canucks' embarrassing loss to the Boston Bruins last night for the 2011 Stanley Cup.

Chaos is certainly in the air on The 404 today as the show welcomes longtime friends Allie and Kenley to the program. The gang discusses last night's anarchy in Canada and whether it was all a conspiracy conducted by some rogue Canadian travel agency.

Beyond riots, we'll take a look at Robin Williams' new Nintendo commercial, Steve Jobs' autobiographical comic book, and Samuel L. Jackson's foray into the world of audiobooks.

The 404 Digest for Episode 841

Shocking photos from last night's riot in Vancouver Samuel L. Jackson tells us all to "Go the F--- to Sleep" Robin Williams really loves Nintendo Steve Jobs the comic book

Episode 841 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Xbox stolen from gold medal bobsledder

It's been pretty much one great thing after another for Steven Holcomb since winning the bobsled gold at the Vancouver Olympics. Well, at least until this week.

Holcomb, who is a big-time computer nerd and video gamer, discovered that his prized Xbox 360 and games had been stolen out of his car. And while the $4,000 worth of gear and games has him a little queasy, what really makes him sick are the hundreds of hours of saved games that he had on the console.

"It's like a death in the family," Holcomb said in … Read more

Reliving the highs of the Vancouver games

SAN FRANCISCO--I have to admit, in the six weeks since I got back from covering the Winter Games, there has been a bit of post-Olympic letdown.

So, when British Columbia tourism officials set up a zip line in San Francisco and brought a few Olympians to town, I decided I had to check it out, even if the tech angle was a little weak (as my editor was quick to point out).

For the Canadians, it was a chance to show San Francisco some of what Vancouver has to offer. In addition to the zip line, British Columbia has filled … Read more

Sharepoint beta gets Olympic tryout

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 helpful--nearly half said very helpful--and almost three-quarters used the flash quotes (quotes gathered from athletes right after their performance or training) and press conference transcripts to … Read more

Holcomb, 'Night Train' team collect bobsled gold

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.

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 bottom so you can get the idea.

In an interview, Holcomb told me that he's done a lot of crazy things in his life, but said, "this is a better high than anything." The huge adrenaline rush makes … Read more

Victory is golden for techie bobsledder

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.

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 describe the … Read more

Techie bobsledder wins gold

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 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 … Read more

Olympic notebook: Canon, Nikon get in the picture

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 lens from Canon to … Read more