Computer businesses want to preserve margin. That's why they don't keep producing older models and dropping the price. Anyone not liking that can buy a used machine instead.
The 113s with fresh paint should be mostly A3s which are uparmored and have a more powerful powerpack. Look for the "wing tanks" on either side of the ramp to identify an A3. Getting the fuel tank out of the crew compartment was a huge step forward. (The 113 was originally designed for the atomic battlefield and meant to be small and light.)
Camp Shelby has literally thousands of A2s in war reserve so there are plenty to mod, and the design lends itself to modification which is why it's the most successful APC in history.
They have been fitted with hybrid powerplants, a go-fast version was even tested with two 460 Ford engines, and they have been chopped, channeled, stretched, and fitted with an amazing variety of ordnance.
I worked with a group which nearly got a shot at building a highly modded V-hull version to greatly reduce the mine problem, but the earmark ban killed that. There is an outfit which can fit 113s with a remote control option so they can be driven remotely or via the drivers station.
Unfortunately, BAE doesn't want to refit 113s when they can sell other systems, so tracks get back-burnered even though 113s were charging through rice paddies more than four decades ago. Good luck being that "expeditionary" with wheeled trucks. The only thing saving the 113 is the moribund FCS vehicle program is as fucked up as a football bat. The Army wants the excellent C4ISR features of FCS, and they CAN be fitted to the 113 despite bullshit claims otherwise.
"In all seriousness, I don't see where the "follow me" mode would be more useful than a HMMWV or a light APC. "
It isn't. An M-113 derivative, the Lynx, can fit in a CH-47 and bring armored protection and a cannon to the fight. We got rid of them years ago because of light infantry narcissism where tracks are considered to be for "mech pussies". An improved version with the engine in front (the Lynx has it in back though M-113s have them up front) could fit more easily, carry more troops UNDER ARMOR, and carry plenty of supplies externally.
The turf wars between Light Infantry Narcissists and Treadheads led to the elimination of light and medium tracked armored vehicles, and modern Global Love Enforcement missions have a preference for wheeled armored trucks like Stryker. (They are comfortable, and compared to an ancient tracked fleet that is not modernized because most of the Army would rather not have it, no wonder the passengers prefer them.)
That's why the Sheridan is gone with no replacement and the AGS got cancelled. Real men don't want tank support or to admit tanks and AFVs are necessary or useful.
The reduced ground pressure and vastly better off-road performance of tracked systems are why many foreign forces retain them.
Wheeled vehicle ground pressure is quite high, restricting wheeled trucks to roads where they are canalized into a predictable path of travel then killed by mines and command-detonated mines (now called IEDs as if the idea is fucking modern, yay for buzzwords!).
There is a reason that doesn't happen much in States where it is a reasonable presumption that many potential targets are armed.
The LA riots happened in LA because there was no serious armed opposition except for a very few armed citizens. The reason they didn't spread to the South (excepting a few minor incidents) is that citizens are ready and eager to waste anyone threatening their safety.
"when you realize that kids as young as 10 were raised in a way where they feel assaulting and robbing people at random is an acceptable Saturday night activity."
I wasn't raised to think that gunning them down is an inappropriate response. A child soldier in Africa can kill you as dead as an adult militiaman/woman.
None of this is new. This guy fought back and survived:
"Nutter doesn't have a chance to solve this, but I bet that sadly most people will call for more street cameras and more stop-and-frisk."
Which would have helped in the wild NYC days. If you want to gentrify Somalia, you need to do better than conventional policing and use both peaceful and less-peaceful counterinsurgency methods including surveillance. 24/7 surveillance does pay in Iraq and Afghanistan, but takes more monitoring than that to which US police agencies are accustomed.
BTW one reason US crime rates are dropping quite nicely is we lock 'em up and throw away the key. They do no damage in prison, so stop releasing them.
"So Anyone have a pretty gui built around one of the open source/free hypervisors with all the same basic features as vCenter (live migration, live storage migration, performance reporting)? oh, and the GUI needs to be easy for a windows person to use."
That would be a way to take advantage of the market opportunity presented by the price increase.
"Unfortunately these locks still happily open the door when fired on by a blaster."
A standard cutting torch can be run off a medical oxygen cylinder and a disposable propane cylinder. Merely a matter of using standard fittings (and is a great back-saver, which is why it's done). Not much can stop a cutting torch, and for those obstacles you can spend more money for an exothermic rescue outfit.
Locks are intended to raise the barrier and require such messy means of entry.
The Chinese and US both have huge governments who can and do exploit each other as "threats" so they can excuse the expenditure of even more money. Follow the money.
Never mind that the US has no rational military interest in Asia, we must FEAR the EVIL CHICOMS and spend sweet billions to defend our useless client states (so they can save on military budgets and spend the diff on economic competition WITH THE US).
Slashdot Mirror
"Bring the price down to less than $200."
Computer businesses want to preserve margin. That's why they don't keep producing older models and dropping the price. Anyone not liking that can buy a used machine instead.
The 113s with fresh paint should be mostly A3s which are uparmored and have a more powerful powerpack. Look for the "wing tanks" on either side of the ramp to identify an A3. Getting the fuel tank out of the crew compartment was a huge step forward. (The 113 was originally designed for the atomic battlefield and meant to be small and light.)
Camp Shelby has literally thousands of A2s in war reserve so there are plenty to mod, and the design lends itself to modification which is why it's the most successful APC in history.
They have been fitted with hybrid powerplants, a go-fast version was even tested with two 460 Ford engines, and they have been chopped, channeled, stretched, and fitted with an amazing variety of ordnance.
I worked with a group which nearly got a shot at building a highly modded V-hull version to greatly reduce the mine problem, but the earmark ban killed that. There is an outfit which can fit 113s with a remote control option so they can be driven remotely or via the drivers station.
Unfortunately, BAE doesn't want to refit 113s when they can sell other systems, so tracks get back-burnered even though 113s were charging through rice paddies more than four decades ago. Good luck being that "expeditionary" with wheeled trucks. The only thing saving the 113 is the moribund FCS vehicle program is as fucked up as a football bat. The Army wants the excellent C4ISR features of FCS, and they CAN be fitted to the 113 despite bullshit claims otherwise.
"Anyone interested in resurrecting packet radio?"
That's gonna make for some slow torrents!
"In all seriousness, I don't see where the "follow me" mode would be more useful than a HMMWV or a light APC. "
It isn't. An M-113 derivative, the Lynx, can fit in a CH-47 and bring armored protection and a cannon to the fight. We got rid of them years ago because of light infantry narcissism where tracks are considered to be for "mech pussies". An improved version with the engine in front (the Lynx has it in back though M-113s have them up front) could fit more easily, carry more troops UNDER ARMOR, and carry plenty of supplies externally.
The turf wars between Light Infantry Narcissists and Treadheads led to the elimination of light and medium tracked armored vehicles, and modern Global Love Enforcement missions have a preference for wheeled armored trucks like Stryker. (They are comfortable, and compared to an ancient tracked fleet that is not modernized because most of the Army would rather not have it, no wonder the passengers prefer them.)
That's why the Sheridan is gone with no replacement and the AGS got cancelled. Real men don't want tank support or to admit tanks and AFVs are necessary or useful.
The reduced ground pressure and vastly better off-road performance of tracked systems are why many foreign forces retain them.
Wheeled vehicle ground pressure is quite high, restricting wheeled trucks to roads where they are canalized into a predictable path of travel then killed by mines and command-detonated mines (now called IEDs as if the idea is fucking modern, yay for buzzwords!).
"But the fact is the United States is suffering from serious cultural issues that perpetuates things like crime."
If you point out those issues here, it usually gets an instant Troll mod.
There is a reason that doesn't happen much in States where it is a reasonable presumption that many potential targets are armed.
The LA riots happened in LA because there was no serious armed opposition except for a very few armed citizens. The reason they didn't spread to the South (excepting a few minor incidents) is that citizens are ready and eager to waste anyone threatening their safety.
"when you realize that kids as young as 10 were raised in a way where they feel assaulting and robbing people at random is an acceptable Saturday night activity."
I wasn't raised to think that gunning them down is an inappropriate response. A child soldier in Africa can kill you as dead as an adult militiaman/woman.
None of this is new. This guy fought back and survived:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Goetz
"Nutter doesn't have a chance to solve this, but I bet that sadly most people will call for more street cameras and more stop-and-frisk."
Which would have helped in the wild NYC days. If you want to gentrify Somalia, you need to do better than conventional policing and use both peaceful and less-peaceful counterinsurgency methods including surveillance. 24/7 surveillance does pay in Iraq and Afghanistan, but takes more monitoring than that to which US police agencies are accustomed.
BTW one reason US crime rates are dropping quite nicely is we lock 'em up and throw away the key. They do no damage in prison, so stop releasing them.
They need human-shaped ballast, and it would be cruel to use an innocent mannequin.
Hoodlums /= "civil unrest", and the baseline violence level in the US is trivial compared to the Bad Old Days.
For example, walking in Central Park is no longer considered attempted suicide. Have some stats:
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/nycrime.htm
Want "civil unrest"? Have some "1967 riots". THAT was civil unrest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBhaiJ5YNiM
"First, they came for the Niemollers..."
"So Anyone have a pretty gui built around one of the open source/free hypervisors with all the same basic features as vCenter (live migration, live storage migration, performance reporting)? oh, and the GUI needs to be easy for a windows person to use."
That would be a way to take advantage of the market opportunity presented by the price increase.
There's a quicker, quieter way (Smith linked because they are very well made in the USA):
http://store.cyberweld.com/porwelkit.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=2530&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=706f7277656c6b6974
"Unfortunately these locks still happily open the door when fired on by a blaster."
A standard cutting torch can be run off a medical oxygen cylinder and a disposable propane cylinder. Merely a matter of using standard fittings (and is a great back-saver, which is why it's done). Not much can stop a cutting torch, and for those obstacles you can spend more money for an exothermic rescue outfit.
Locks are intended to raise the barrier and require such messy means of entry.
Necessity really IS the mother of invention.
"Believe it or not sometimes people are better at solving certain problems than computers. "
"Kill the heretic! Kill him! Persecute! Kill!"
They are also MUCH less expensive to keep. I'm a mechanic and would rather buy a clutch than a remanned auto transmission.
"âoeThey buy a truck, but they drive it as if it were a car. They donâ(TM)t necessarily need the bed or the four-wheel drive.â
Many, many of us do need the capacity, towing ability, etc. It is reasonable to use that same machine as a "car" too.
Lock the basement door. (runs)
Has Rupert Murdoch bought Slashdot?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Good point. All phones should mount as a Mass Storage Device.
tl;dr
Yet another excuse to outsource. That is all.
The Chinese and US both have huge governments who can and do exploit each other as "threats" so they can excuse the expenditure of even more money. Follow the money.
Never mind that the US has no rational military interest in Asia, we must FEAR the EVIL CHICOMS and spend sweet billions to defend our useless client states (so they can save on military budgets and spend the diff on economic competition WITH THE US).
A new Cold War could make money for many people. Follow the money.
I welcome "cyber attacks" because they can coerce immune responses and punish bad security practices.
It's unfortunate for overall internet health that the slowest zebras are "infected by parasites" instead of "killed outright".
"ALL regulations and taxes should govern what we DON'T want, and not what we do want."
That kills the argument against booze, weed and hookers because a large portion of the public want those things and have so throughout our history.
"Whiskey Rebellion" ring a fucking bell?