Once people realized exactly what happens at Google I/O each year – which is to say, all the important announcements of summer releases, not to mention hundreds of dollars in free hardware – tickets became a more in-demand commodity than Dutch tulips. This year, it took less than an hour for I/O tickets to be sold out completely, even and despite the larger venue for the event. To help address this startling demand, Google is broadcasting large portions of the event live on the web.
The videos will be displayed on this Google I/O site (which, for now, is populated with a very colorful countdown bar). Starting on May 10th, the page linked above will be populated with live streams from the two largest session rooms. That means that most of the prominent talks, including the keynote addresses, will be available on the stream. The streams will last from 9am to 6pm Pacific Time on both days (the 10th and 11th) of I/O.
Google has also added some additional features that make the event more accessible and interactive. This includes:
- Instant captions on all the streamed events.
- Instant translations on captions for the streamed events.
- An opportunity to submit questions to sandbox developers.
The live streaming will be completely free, and given the demand for tickets it’s expected that the web-viewing audience will be massive. Sadly, online attendees will (probably) not be receiving buckets full of new tech toys.
[via the Official Google Blog]
