San Francisco preps for a high-tech Super Bowl
Silicon Valley takes a backseat to the National Football League this weekend.
San Francisco plays host to Super Bowl 50, as the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos battle to win the NFL's top prize. And The City By The Bay has spent a lot of time and money getting ready:
The "most technologically advanced Super Bowl ever"
No surprises here. It's Silicon Valley, after all. Almost half of Super Bowl 50's primary sponsors represent tech, including Google and Intel. Meanwhile, an advisory group for the big game boasts a wealth of tech talent, including Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.
NFL fans will be treated by tech wizardry, such as SAP's Quarterback Challenge, where visitors can virtually step into the shoes of a pro quarterback and face an NFL pass rush. Intel will host a Drone Zone, where fans can fly mini-drones.
"Never before has tech had such an impact on a Super Bowl," says John Paul, CEO of VenueNext, the company behind an app that will let Super Bowl attendees order food and merchandise from their seats at Levi's Stadium.
Silicon Valley rolls out red carpet for Super Bowl
San Francisco is Super Bowl Central this week: Voices
Wi-Fi gets a big boost
About 1 million fans are expected in San Francisco, which means finding a good wireless connection could be a problem. That's why companies like AT&T invested more than $25 million to bolster the city's wireless infrastructure, while Verizon poured in $70 million to make sure San Fran stays connected. T-Mobile and Sprint also beefed up capacity to brace for the week.
Visitors are expected to gobble up more than 2 terabytes of data during the week. That's a lot of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Periscope and other photo/video uploading.
Millions spent to beef up wireless for Super Bowl 50
Microsoft Surface prepares for its big moment
Could we see a replay of technical glitches with Microsoft's signature tablet?
The Surface is a common gadget used by NFL coaches on the sidelines, but got flagged after tablets used by the New England Patriots during the AFC Championship Game stopped working during the first quarter. By the next quarter, the issue was fixed.
However, Microsoft and the NFL will likely put in extra work to make sure similar bugs don't plague Surface ahead of the big game.
"You got to make sure the game stays central to it all," said NFL Chief Information Officer Michelle McKenna-Doyle. "We’re going to be ready, "
Microsoft's Surface girds for Super Bowl
Uber, Lyft riders in for a surprise — a celebrity driver or maybe severe gridlock
The ride-hailing companies are rolling out a bunch of gimmicks for riders. For instance, Lyft is sending out undercover drivers like retired San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice and Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant to surprise riders. But riders may also encounter more traffic jams, if protests by some Uber drivers, upset over price cuts that have hurt their take-home pay, go as planned.
Uber, Lyft riders in for Super Bowl surprises
Inside StubHub's offices, where experts weed out counterfeit tickets
A single ticket to Super Bowl 50can go for as much as $25,000, making the thin strips of paper worth far more than their weight in platinum.
That's why ticket reseller StubHub employs armed guards, forensic ticket inspectors and rents a vault for the four days it will have thousands of them in its possession.
How StubHub fights counterfeit Super Bowl tickets
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.