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Developing Open Source Defense Projects
An anonymous reader writes "I'm a developer looking to develop an open source surface-to-air missile guidance system, with the aim of helping developing nations develop low-cost missile defense systems to aid them against attack by the warplanes of invading forces. However, given the very nature of the project, I feel I may be walking into a bit of a minefield regarding the legalities of such a project, since, as I'm sure you can imagine, this project could easily benefit hostile nations was well as relatively peaceful ones! Unfortunately, since Google does not seem to shed much light on the subject, I'd be very interested in hearing Slashdot's views on the matter, especially some advice from those in the know about the legal matters - whether there would be any restrictions (exports, perhaps?) or whether it would be simply plain illegal to develop!"
You can't share the technology with other civilizations!
Imagine what will happen if the Terrans start building Protoss cannons that can strike ground and air targets, or the Zerg start equipping Zerglings with stimpacks! The results would... be...
Wait, was that just a computer game?
You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
Well being April 1, I wont take this seriously.
Beta Testing your product will sure be a bitch, and it will be hard to keep good beta testers.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Missile Command (Atari) works great and is dirt cheap now-a-days.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
I'm getting sick of these April Fool's posts... We all already know that Open Source Defense Projects is an oxymoron, you know source has to be closed to be truely secure.
Can we have a real story now?
The Open Source Hammer in the Sky protocol suite is what you are looking for. I use the OSHITS protocol to defend my small volcanic (it's not active, thankfully) island.
Oh, I also need to mention that OSHITS is GPL-compliant, so feel free to modify it in any way you'd like. It can be found at OSHITS.com*
The OSHITS protocol suite has also been through the legal ringer, in both the EU and the US.
In fact, the Supreme Court and the UN Tribunal Council both agreed, OSHITS is legal and quite good for use. Thanks and have a great day.
*web address doesn't render properly on IE. User must use an old version of Netscape.
Sent from your iPad.
First thing, don't be inside of the US developing it. The US doesn't want anything in the way of them rolling over any foreign countries that they find Oil in.
Otherwise, I'd love to see such a system out there. I've always drafted up ideas for tanks, planes, missile guidence systems, but being in the US, there's no way I could ever develop them.
Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
Hey, man. You have the right to bear arms. Missiles are arms.
Now lets party.
I demand a filter option for 'Stupid April Fools' stories
perhaps you should write your controlling app using .NET technology?
Food: It's whats for dinner
I may not be the first and/or only one to think of this, but this seems to be a proven formula:
1. Post article on Slashdot on April 1st
2. ???
3. Profit!
Sigs for Nerds. Sigs that Matter.
You just need to stand at the border with large baseball or cricket bats. Planes hate bats, and bats are sympathetic to American causes. Evil nations would use pointed sticks. So if you develop a system that can tell the difference between pointed sticks (evil) and baseball bats (good), no problem. I'm sure any ol' RFID would be useful in a good American or British bat.
riding round the world on an old motorcycle
I thought the golden rule was WWJS.
Michael isn't intentionally picking April Fools stories. He's actually following his normal selection patern, it's just today that we're willing to consider them jokes....
Don't let them. They'll put in a backdoor that redirects any missle lauched to the Middle East.
Or North Korea.
Or Canada.
I know this might sound silly, but here's a really simple answer for you:
LOOK AT THE DATE YOU BUMBLING FOOL
Dun't worry yurself 'bout the legaltys. 'Ell, I owns one a dem dere new-clear weapons and no one's dun gone'n fussed ta me about it. Course, I ain't told no one 'bout it either. B'Sides, it's my second amender-ment right!
... KICBM?
or GMissile?
Beta testers are sure gonna be a hard thing to find when bugs crop up.
I have a BS in BS.
This fits in just a little too well with some recent "Ask Slashdot" stories.
"I'm a moron. How can I be less of a moron? Should I not be a moron at all? Or should I be even more moronic?" (bitchslapping ensues, mostly by those too bored to restrain themselves)
Premature optimization is the root of all evil
Will your guidance system have an Arab language version? There are many people who I know of who can translate.
http://github.com/gbook/nidb
Which is worse? To feed trolls by posting replies, or to reply to any story posted on Slashdot on April 1?
The answer to the question is of course: ITAR, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which is detailed here: http://pmdtc.org/reference.htm
"127.1 Violations.
(a) It is unlawful:
(1) To export or attempt to export
from the United States any defense article
or technical data or to furnish
any defense service for which a license
or written approval is required by this
subchapter without first obtaining the
required license or written approval
from the Office of Defense Trade Controls;"
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog, its too dark to read.
10. Nuclear landmines kept warm by being packed with live penguins
9. The Gentoo Torpedo
8. *BSD WMD (this one is buried deep so you can't find it)
7. SDI SDK
6. The *real* Mozilla: a 600' tall flame-breathing Japanese monster.
5. Neutron GAIM
4. The BeoWulfowitz Cluster
3. Sun OpenWarfare project
2. The Doomsday Linux
1. Cmdr Taco
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Sounds like this one hits a little too close to home for the slashbots.
... confusion ... pain ... must jerk knee violently
open source ideology being mocked
It's a no-brainer.
Open Source Missile, a la google.
The Canadian government will pay you for those missiles, just as long as you don't actually create them. We like to refer to it as our "Save Canada" program. We pretend to buy the little paper Canadian flags (we pay for them, we just don't pick them up), and we've decieded we could use your missiles as well. Please note we pay in cash only (Canadian loonies ONLY!)
Mod +5 Drunk
No, this is just the answer to that guy in New Zealand with the DIY cruise missle! Hey, you wouldn't be that guys neighbor, would you? I'm beginning to understand now...
All I know is that if I were a kid in his neighborhood, I wouldn't be walking on his grass...
It will be easy to keep good beta testers, they are the ones who survive because they are so good at dodging. The trick is recruiting new beta testers, and keeping them around long enough to become good beta testers.
As your code improves, it will increasingly weed out the beta testers who are not quite good enough. The really good beta testers will improve as your code improves, and will take your improvments as just the motivation they need to keep on improving.
Your product will be ready for release when you run out of beta testers.
Infuriate left and right
the internet is knee deep in instructions on how to build and h-bomb.
2 1337 4 u!
I like this idea because, as it stands, the price for this type of software is artificially inflated.
Right now, terrorists' funding is being stretched quite thin because of increased costs for heroin production in Afghanistan. So, anywhere that they can cut costs, they want to. Buying guided missiles from former Soviet block nations can be quite costly, and a more cost effective solution involves cutting out the middle man and building them "in-cave."
I'm not sure about legal issues, but perhaps Syria or Lebanon or other countries would be interested in supporting you. Just watch out for those pesky CIA dudes that are trying to kill your ass.
Take it easy? I'll take it anyway I can get it . . .
I thought it was funny as hell. I guess slashdotters can't see the humour in themselves. i.e All open source projects are Good, all government restrictions on software are Bad.
My only real complaint is there are just too damn many April fools jokes on slashdot. If the majority of the stories were actually real and only a few stories were jokes it'd be much easier to put one over on everyone.
AccountKiller
Who Wants Jack Daniels? Always a decent proposition..
"It was a summer's tale: Just a boy, his Linux, and a head full of dreams..."
Because everyone knows the sword was invented after the shield.
No, the pilum was invented after the shield.
So, I'm thinking, wouldn't it be fun to open such a project on Source Forge? Then I thought - I'll bet somebody did. (yeah, go to the link, it's there).
Kinetic stupidity has a new brand leader: Allen Zadr.
YOU KNOW YER A REDNECK WHEN .... You think "My Way" is a Willie Nelson reference
Ever heard of the "Gerald Bull Supercanon" project? If I where you I will not only be concerned about the legality of the project. By doing that kind of project you'll become an unofficial enemy of many industrial country's and that's the perfect scenario to finish like this guy. Is basic project wasn't mean, he just wanted to develop a cheap way to send payload in space but because he was helping enemy nations he got more than he bargained for. Even if he was a Canadian Citizen (I think) he wasn't out of reach of the Mossad...
Yahh, hiii haaaaa! -Major Kong, from Dr. Strangelove
cruise missle? amateur!
the internet is knee deep in instructions on how to build and h-bomb.
Dude, I'm not touching that link through ten anonymous proxy servers...
Well, a Farci interface would be better for most international hostspots. Through Pashtun would also be nice.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Well, make sure you get a permit from your government first, or your open source missile project could end up being shut down: DIY Cruise Missile Grounded.
Trusted Computing FAQ | Free Dawit Isaak!
Stick with chemical and biological weapons, and be a part of the growing Open Sores Community...
Any sufficiently advanced man is indistinguishable from God
I am not a lawyer.