Microsoft announces NCAA March Madness Windows 10 app and Bing bracket experience
Computers and sports have historically been viewed as separate -- at least from a stereotypical point of view. It used to be perceived that there were jocks and nerds, and that computers were reserved for the latter. Over time, however, computers have gone so mainstream that they are ubiquitous in pretty much every sector. Hell, Microsoft's awesome Surface computers are seen on the sidelines of NFL games.
Today, Microsoft and the NCAA announce a partnership to further marry sports and computers with the Bing-powered March Madness basketball bracket experience. The NCAA is also releasing a new universal Windows 10 app! Sports fans -- and bracket gamblers -- should absolutely love the experiences created by this partnership.
"Together with the NCAA, Bing is creating the NCAA March Madness bracket experience. Bing Predicts' intelligent machine learning technology will analyze social and search signals, NCAA statistical data to help fans build a smarter bracket. The Bing bracket provides intelligent match-up predictions, analysis and additional features that can help newcomers and diehard hoops fans alike make sense of the over nine quintillion possible outcomes for all 67 tournament games", says Microsoft.
The Windows-maker further explains, "to ensure that you don’t miss a moment of play during the tournament, the NCAA has built a universal app for Windows 10. The app will be available for Windows 10 PCs, phones, and tablets prior to the tournament start. It leverages exclusive Windows 10 features so fans everywhere can experience the tournament whenever and wherever they are. Stay up to date on tournament action with Live Tiles by pinning your favorite teams to the Start menu. Get live alerts on upsets, overtimes, and close games, and live video streaming of all 67 tournament games".
Windows users in particular are in for a treat, as the universal app sounds awesome. While I am usually not a fan of Live Tiles as icons for apps, I definitely see the value of pinning your favorite teams for quicker access. I will be sure to pin my beloved Stony Brook Seawolves, who should hopefully make the tournament this year for the first time ever -- fingers crossed.
If you aren't on Windows -- either on desktop or mobile -- don't worry. Starting March 13, the experience will be available to all operating systems at Bing.com.
Will you leverage Bing for your March Madness needs? Tell me in the comments.