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webword writes: "There is an article in the July 2000 issue of Crosstalk (The Journal of Defense Software Engineering) about gathering requirements in Open Source projects. This is especially interesting because most commercial projects are driven by the requirements gathering processes (or the 'SDLC') whereas most Open Source projects are written to 'scratch an itch'. Let's face it, Open Source requirements are almost always in the mind(s) of the programmer(s), not on paper. However, if the requirements are captured, and shared, the quality and speed of development will improve." How many articles like this have we seen? How many open source applications have ideas like these spawned? I remain skeptical.

webword writes: "There is an article in the July 2000 issue of Crosstalk (The Journal of Defense Software Engineering) about gathering requirements in Open Source projects. This is especially interesting because most commercial projects are driven by the requirements gathering processes (or the 'SDLC') whereas most Open Source projects are written to 'scratch an itch'. Let's face it, Open Source requirements are almost always in the mind(s) of the programmer(s), not on paper. However, if the requirements are captured, and shared, the quality and speed of development will improve." How many articles like this have we seen? How many open source applications have ideas like these spawned? I remain skeptical.

We had a reader send us a link to the United States Air Force Report on plans for possible futures. They've looked at the next 30 years, envisioning different scenarios and created the areas that the USAF needs to work -- the role of space obviously becomes more important, and they've got some interesting conclusions about what to expect. There's /reams/ of data here, and I've only started to read through it, but it's pretty cool stuff.

FalconRed writes "Found in the December 21st Issue of US News and World Report; apparently while not watching Saddam Hussein, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) "will use its satellite and radar network to plot Santa for 24 hours, starting at 7am EST on December 24th. Look for... photos from fighter jets greeting Santa as he enters North American airspace." I want an SDI outpost for Christmas, mommy! Check it out here " Ok... I thought NORAD's involvement a hoax until I went to NORAD's Website. updated apparently "this" was ambiguous, so now it says "NORAD's involvement".