Conference trucks::football;1

    We are using another companies hardware to install Microsoft Software
    for broadccasting the scores on the telly and on the scoreboards at the
    matches.
    
    
    CHARLEY

    Neil,
    
    I believe that we are one of the "official" suppliers of equipment. I
    think PCBU are supplying a stack of PCs (surprisingly). Don't know any
    more than that.
    
    Stuart

    Neil,
    The short answer is we are supplying the computer hardware for the event.
    
    			Stretch. 

    
    We only supply the hardware via MCS Logistics... Mind you you would
    have thought the chance of loads of publicity was a must ie TV/ Radio
    etc.
    
    What have we seen a flag and some stickers available from the service
    store... yep Macdonalds/Pepsi must be envious of our high profile
    
    Pj
    

>
>    The short answer is we are supplying the computer hardware for the event.
>    

	So, we can expect them to turn up three months after the Final...	

    SEMA over by Caversham Bridge were giving away free or complimentary
    tickets and they also had order forms for tickets to the games back
    when they were on public sale. Nice to see DIGITAL getting on the ball
    so early (:==:)
                        
    Will they put the real flags back up after and how many VPs are in 
    charge of this program?
    
    Regards
    
    Andrew.D.Wicks

    I think the PCBU are getting the comps to distribute amongst
    partners. Boo Hoo etc etc!!!
    
    
    			Stretch.

    do you not have anything better to do
    
    
    stewart doyle

    eh?

    Stretch, he said....
    
    `don't you have anything better to do?...'
    
    yours helpfully,    Ray....

    Doh!

But Ray, why did he call Stretch a 'losser'?

g

    Or was it me he was refering too? eh?

    Having just returned from a meeting at the FA to read this note, I'll
    give you an update on what Digital are providing:-
    
    Digital are part of the Euro-96 Technology team comprising BT, SEMA and
    Microsft.
    
    The principle function of the team is to provide the information
    infrastructure to support the tournament, with key applications such
    as; results service and statistics, accreditation, VIP management,
    material/asset management and volunteer management.
    
    Our role is to supply the Hardware and Network infrastructure. We will
    supply and support over 500 PC's and Notebooks, 55 Servers and 40 local
    area networks -not just in the stadiums but in the local media centres,
    hotels and tournament offices.
    
    SEMA are providing the systems integration capability and applications
    based on the systems they developed for the Barcelona Olympics.
    Microsoft are providing the software, the solution is based on a client
    server with WindowNT and BT providing the WAN.
    
    The project is being managed in the UK by Fran Winters, one of the MCS
    Programme Managers.
    
    The Systems were tested at the England v Croatia game this week and
    worked well, although we are hoping that during the tournament the
    results service is utilised to a greater extent than the 0-0 draw! 
     
    Paul
                                         

    So what's the chance of some free tickets...??
    
    Do you need anybody to type the England-Scotland score into the
    computer... provided that you get into the match free....
    
    I don't suppose waving ya DEC badge at the gates will get you in.... ?
    
    Cheers,
    
    	Rick.

    Yeah...Nice try Rick!
    
    			Stretch.

Ahhh Paul my old friend.

I'm glad see you're in good health once again.
It really was nothing for me to run into that burning building and pull you free. Any time.
And remember when the parachute didn't open and I jumped out after you, freefalling
with the last chute to almost certain death. What a laugh we had about that one eh. HA HA 
And as I've always said. Sure I had a kidney to spare anyway.

My father was just going through the old photo album( as he does now that the cancer , cholera , CJD and dyptheria
have taken hold ) the other night and with the usual glistening tear told of the occasion when your father and he
were attacked by that freak Great white Shark. Wasn't my dad the lucky fellow to be able to pull your dad from
those vice like jaws and donate those seven pints of blood. Thankfully they both had that extremly rare group.

And my Grandfather still speaks fondly of the nice Maguire people he plucked from the freezing water after the
Titanic went down. He maintains he wouldn't have been able to singlehandedly row the lot of them the 500 miles to
saftey without the great singsong your family kept going.
In light of the amnesia I'm not sure that you'll have rembered all of this but sure we all forget the odd thing 
now and again.
Now I was just wondering whether you'd have a couple of Tickets for Euro '96.
Dad hasn't long left and...well you know the rest.

Peter

P.S Do you still need that EYE ?

    Peter
    
    I was interested in re-calling some great moments from the Maguire
    family past.
    
    Do you remember when your Uncle Pat sold my Uncle Jimmy's ticket for the
    Manchester U v Benfica, European Cup Final, to a tout following a
    drunken binge in Kentish Town on the eve of the game.
    
    What a laugh we had about that one.
    
    Paul
     
    

Well sure Jimmy needed the money to pay for your Auntie Nora's hair transplant.

Does anyone have the full fixture list for the Euro finals? Matches, dates,
location etc.

If it's in here I can't find it.

Rgds, Dr. Betty.


    
    Look at the web page advertised in "The Point"http://www.euro96.org

    I'll post the fixture list in a second, but if you want to take part in
    a Euro96 Fantasy Football Competition, check here :
    
    http://www.dreamleague.com/football/euro96/how2play.html
    
    Thinking about it, the fixture list is on http://www.euro96.org/
    
    
    Ian.

    Ian,
    I thought YOU had had enough of Fantasy Football for a while?!?!
    
    
        		Stretch.

                  Digital provides service, support for
                     EURO 96 football championships
   
         (Courtesy of Digital Public Relations, United Kingdom)
   
         Digital's Multivendor Customer Services Division  (MCS) has 
   unparalleled experience in providing and servicing mission-critical 
   client/server applications for large organizations.  This June, it 
   faces an entirely new type of customer: EURO 96, the third largest 
   sporting event in the world.
         As an Official Technology Supplier and member of the Technology 
   Team,  Digital is supplying all computer hardware for the tournament: 
   53 Intel servers, five AlphaServer systems, 540 PCs and notebooks, and 
   53 LANs, to say nothing of the 80 engineers providing specialized 
   on-site support and service.  MCS is installing, de-installing and 
   servicing all the systems used in EURO 96.
         EURO 96, the 1996 European Football Championships, is being held 
   in England this month.  It's the first time England has hosted a major 
   championship since the 1966 World Cup.
         EURO 96 is like a virtual company in many ways.  It has more than 
   1,000 "employees" (volunteers and staff members), more than 35 
   "offices" (football stadia, hotels and offices in eight cities around 
   England), "customers" (an average TV audience of 220 million per 
   match), and a need for mission-critical, state-of-the-art information 
   technology systems to control and coordinate the whole operation.
         But this organization will only be in business during June.  As 
   part of the Football Association-appointed EURO 96 Technology Team 
   (also including Sema Group, Microsoft and British Telecom), Digital is 
   faced with the task of installing, servicing, supporting, and 
   subsequently  de-installing all the hardware and LANs used for the 
   competition and Web site -- all in a period of six to eight weeks.
         "Only an organization such as Digital could support an event of 
   this size and complexity," said Fran Winters, EURO 96 project manager.   
   "EURO 96 presents some tough logistical challenges for the Technology  
   Team; however, Digital's MCS Division faces similar challenges from  
   our clients every day and we have the experience needed to get the job  
   done."
         Digital's products and services are essential to the smooth 
   running of  EURO 96.  The logistics of the tournament are demanding, 
   with 31 matches spread across eight of the UK's most famous stadia.  
   The event, which kicks off on Saturday, June 8 with England vs. 
   Switzerland at Wembley Stadium, had a record 48 entries.  The final 16 
   nations will be competing throughout June.
         There are three core systems for EURO 96, all vital to the smooth  
   running of the tournament: 
     
         o  Operational management system -- Developed specifically for 
            EURO 96 to support the management of the tournament.  It 
            covers accreditation and media ticketing, materials 
            management, VIP and volunteer management.  The networks are 
            resilient so that if one were to fail, another would take 
            over immediately, ensuring that no loss of information would 
            occur.
 
         o  Information system -- provides the media and other accredited  
            personnel with details of the tournament, its history and 
            current standings.
           
         o  Results service -- graphically presents match statistics to  
            broadcasters for presentation to a worldwide TV audience. 
            "Spotters" sitting with the match commentators during EURO 96 
            matches are equipped with Digital HiNote Ultra notebook 
            computers.  During the match, the spotters enter statistics, 
            such as free kicks, possession by player, etc., which are 
            then transmitted to the broadcast van on the stadium grounds. 
            This information is then fed to FORTO, an alliance of host 
            broadcasters, BBC and ITV, who provide it to broadcasters 
            around the world.
     
         Digital is facing a complex set of challenges:
          
         o  Tight deadlines --  At most stadia, Digital installation 
            teams will work under extremely tight deadlines.  For 
            instance, at Wembley Stadium, the Digital team, as well as 
            the other Technology Team partners, will gain access only 
            eight days before the first tournament  -- about half the 
            normal time for installing the type of systems needed for 
            EURO 96.    
           
         o  Remote locations for broadcast units --  At some locations, 
            the broadcast van, which beams the TV signal to broadcasters, 
            is parked up to 500 meters away from the stadium itself.  
            Digital must install fiber cabling from the stadium to the 
            van, no matter how far away it is.
           
         o  Unusual LAN locations --  In some stadia, the LANs are 
            cabled under the actual seating areas.  This is because, 
            unlike a modern "intelligent" building, many of the football 
            stadia were not designed with data cabling and distribution 
            in mind.
           
         o  Scale of operation --  The sheer size of the EURO 96 
            installation, involving eight stadia across England, will 
            be a challenge for Digital's engineers.  Besides installing 
            all the computer equipment, Digital engineers must deal 
            with ordinary factors made extraordinary by the scale of 
            the match.  For instance, around 2,500 boxes will need to 
            be shipped, unpacked, stored, and re-packed after EURO 96 
            is over.
           
         o  High profile Internet site --  Digital will be hosting the 
            official EURO 96 site at www.euro96.com.  The site will 
            provide up-to-the-minute match information as it happens. 
     
         Digital engineers will be on hand at all matches to oversee the  
   systems and to identify any potential problems.  For instance, to  
   monitor the central server, a Digital AlphaServer 2000 system, one of a 
   team of Digital engineers will be on site 24 hours a day, seven days a  
   week, for the entire month of June in Birmingham.  This location acts  
   as the brain of the entire system.
         "With an event such as EURO 96, where the world is watching, we 
   can't afford to have even one second of downtime," said Fran Winters. 
   "Organizers and fans alike expect everything to run smoothly.  That's 
   why our engineers will be present every step of the way, anticipating 
   problems and avoiding them before they even happen."
        
   The Technology Team
   
         The Technology Team, led by Sema Group, is providing a complete 
   IT infrastructure for EURO 96.  Everyone involved in the tournament, 
   including 6,000 media representatives, 2,000-plus staff and players, 
   1.5 million ticket holders, and a cumulative TV audience of 6.9 
   billion viewers in 150 countries, will depend on Sema Group, Digital, 
   Microsoft and BT for vital information and logistical support.

    
    Guess what the first piece of kit supplied for the Euro 96 contract has
    been stolen from.....
    
    Yep you guessed it 
    
    from Anfield..... hey Barry look what I've got hey hey you don't wanna
    dodat dodee
    
    I have this vision of this cluster of PC's all up on bricks.... 8-)
    
    Pj                   

Well, has anyone seen anything crash yet?! It seems to be working well. Only 
thing I'm disappointed in are the graphics. All the lettering is the tired old 
white and yellow sloping font which American sport programmes have been using 
for decades it seems. It would have been good if someone could have designed 
something new and different - like in Italia 90.

g