During the two weeks of the Australian Open, there were no human beings calling the ball in or out. It was all done by Hawkeye, an automated system that trains 12 cameras on the court and uses software to track the path of each shot and where it lands. Until recently, that technology was only used for replays, but it became so reliable, there was no reason to keep the human element in the mix. Doing so eliminates player challenges, which shortens matches by a few minutes. It also eliminates the chance of Novak Djokovic being disqualified for hitting a ball at a linesperson, as he did last September at the US Open. The best part, though, was that the Australian Open tournament directors used the voices of first responders who have helped save lives during the pandemic to announce the rulings made by Hawkeye. Nice.
A remake of “The Wizard Of Oz” is in the works. Why? Is there any chance it will compare favorably to the original? Unlikely.
I know that it’s all done digitally and there’s no actual videotape involved, but because I’m old, every time I go from super-fast-forward on my DVR directly to play, part of me shudders at the wear and tear on the tape and internal components.
I’m dumbfounded at any customer-facing business that doesn’t have a website in the year 2021. My wife and I wanted to try out a new Mexican restaurant we found on Google, but the place doesn’t have a homepage. While I’m sure it offers all the usual dishes similar restaurants have, I’d still like to see what the “chef’s specials” and other entrees are — before ordering a burrito or a couple of tacos like I always do. Putting up a static website (even without an online ordering option) isn’t that hard or expensive, especially considering that not having one might prevent people from becoming customers!
This sounds like a line from Larry King’s old USA Today column, but I’ve never been any good at shinnying.