Any semi advanced country can produce the fuselage and overall geometry and ability to obscure heat exhausts to create a stealth fighter. The Germans had a wooden prototype designed back in the WW2 that had the same geometry that is similar to today's modern stealth planes. They just did not have the other necessary technology to make it feasible and in the end they ran out of time to pursue the project. The radar absorbing materials can also be created by others. These characteristics can be deduced by analysing pictures and have not really been a secret ever since the F-117 was first used in combat. But the F-117 was vulnerable to radar defense systems because the ECM capabilities were iffy. In the first Iraq war their flight plans needed to target the edges of the overlapping radar coverage air defense areas and relied on radio silence amongst the planes during the operation. They also relied on other assests launching simultaneous attacks on the radar systems to over load the detection systems. The F-117 downed in the Balkans happened because the aircraft was flying at a very low altitude and became visible by eyes on the ground. Stealth does not mean invisible to the naked eye, YET. Despite being described as a "fighter" it did not possess the maneuverability or defenses to avoid air or ground based missile attacks if they were detected. What the F-22 excels in is it's ECM and computer technology which not be deduced from a external pictures. Without advanced ECM and C&C capabilities the radar systems and missiles can theoretically detect a stealth craft even though it would not be easy.
The designing and production of the F-22 started about 20 years ago. The pilots who would be flying this aircraft were not even born yet.
"By the time China becomes a real threat, the F-22 will be an old outdated piece of crap"
The F-22 uses the most advanced aviation technology on the planet. The F-15 was built and deployed in 1972 and is still considered one of the most deadliest combat jets in the world. They have been constantly been updated for over 30 years so claiming the F-22 is going to be obsolete in the near future are totally false. As it stands there is not one military jet that even comes close to the F-22. During testing they used attack scenarios that pitted 1 F-22 against multiple F-15's just to try and make it a fair fight and even that didn't work.
Trying to locate one man on the planet who took elaborate precautions to avoid detection can take some time. Add the fact that some people within the Pakistani government, military, and ISI security services were most certainly protecting him also added problems for the people doing the search. The reason the US did not notify Pakistan prior to the raid is because their military and intelligence services are infested with people who actively support and use terrorist organizations as part of their foreign policy. Bin Laden would have been long gone if the US notified Pakistan in advance. I still don't know why the US has not cut ties and financial support to the country.
The Internet is the perfect system for spreading disinformation and lies. Opinions become facts and conspiracy theories replace reality. A well meaning person can setup a website discussion board that does nothing but turn into an echo chamber for those already who have already made up their mind about what is fact and their contributions just reinforce their beliefs with congratulating each other on their insight and forthrightness. A relatively normal person can setup and operate multiple sites that while appearing unrelated are really working together to support the same information. A National security service with resources to burn can take this same basic idea and shape the information they want everyone to see. Just include a few real and verifiable facts amongst all the other blatant and unsupported lies and you are off and running. In the past "Yellow Journalism" was used to manage information presented to the public but it became so obvious that the effectiveness degraded and other methods needed to be found. Hard copy books (such as history books) were required to be sourced and the publishers needed to fact check the content of the book before publication or they could face losing money if it was discovered they were were publishing out right lies and presenting them as facts. Besides a publishers reputation being harmed it also cost a substantial amount of money to publish and distribute hard copy books. Sure things slipped through now and then but the fact is the information was subjected to a verification process before it went to the printers. Newspapers have to be especially careful when publishing information as factual and when caught regularly publish retractions. That is why today's newspapers are weak on facts and tend to publish most of thier information as "opinions" and those "opinions" usually adhere to the paper's editorial lines that support a certain viewpoint or political ideology. Thus we end up with liberal and conservative slanted news services that use opinions instead of facts. After a while the regular audience can't tell the difference between a fact or opinion. It's been theorized that the next world war will use religion as it's catalyst (while obscuring the real reason which is power and money) but it is the Internet and it's ability to manipulate and spread information rapidly that will be the real driving force. We now have generations of people who have never had to live without access to the Internet and believe everything they see is true if it supports their own personal preferences which have themselves been created by what they see on the Internet. Selective filtering of facts, using and interpreting facts out of historical context, and the use of anecdotal evidence is what will ultimately cause the next world war and when it is over and civilization re-gains the ability to generate electricity and re-invent computer technology I hope we do it better the 2nd time but we probably won't but at least I will not be around to worry about it.
What Google uses might have used Linux as the starting point but what they actually use now is something entirely different. From their standpoint Linux was the most cost effective starting point on which to build their technology on. To them Linux was just a basically free and stable OS code base to start with. We are talking about a company that have their own proprietary processors designed and manufactured for their exclusive use. They never release any of their proprietary changes back to the community. Just like you will not see Big Table source code released either. You will never see any details regarding thier web server architectures. Their technology gives them an edge and they are not about to release anything that might benefit any of their competitors. Describing Google as an Open Source friendly company is ridiculous in the extreme. Other companies using Linux also tend to keep their changes to themselves instead of releasing the source code. Only after the changes become basically obsolete do you see these companies throw the open source community a bone.
You comment is just as uninformed and idiotic as the first. I have 27 years experience in software development and system design. I have the right to express my opinions just like anyone else.
That's why the really high paying jobs are contracted out to 3rd parties. There are quite a few 3rd party companies that use the same rigorous background checks and security clearances so they can work for the various military organizations. The Army, Navy, and Marine pay scale does not come close to attracting top of the line technical people so they outsource.
Why is anyone who operates a business to make a profit always referred to as "greedy bastards"? How do you know these greedy bastards "don't like" releasing updates? Has someone announced that as their official policy or are you just making shit up?
"Things being banned by international treaty has never stopped the US before...." It hasn't stopped any other country either. National interests will always trump treaties when push comes to shove.
If HP or any other hardware vendor actually want their products to sell they need to supply the drivers for the various OS's. Releasing new hardware and then waiting on someone else to build the drivers is not exactly a wise strategy.
Corporation business practices need to be changed but no matter how bad their behavior is they do provide employment and paychecks to a hell of a lot of ordinary people. Taking on corporations using a scorched earth approach usually results in a lot of people losing their jobs. This needs to be taking into consideration when formulating the changes being requested. Those who participate in public rallies and protests are too vague when it comes to defining the changes being put forward. The recent Occupy protests were poorly targeted and the protests ended up focusing primarily on the right to protest! Stop protesting entire industries and start focusing on 1 corporation at a time. Corporate leaders avoid the bright lights and hate being required to personally respond to media requests for explanations and clarifications. Publicly traded corporations are required by law to publish a large amount of detailed corporate information that can be utilized as ammunition when going after them. Intelligently targeting top level executives, CEO's, and Board members can bring the protests down to a personal level where the odds for making changes are much better. Rampaging down the street breaking windows and screaming clever slogans rarely produce any results.
There are some puzzling questions about this entire event. The US knew where the drone was grounded and contemplated launching a military raid to recover it but decided not to do so. The US could have also destroyed the drone with a missile strike if they were worried about Iran getting their hands on the technology but they did not do that either. And is anyone so naive that they believe the drones with advanced technology do not have self-destruct capabilities? The Iranians could not have stopped these efforts to destroy the drone so why did the US let them have it? Iran has previously claimed 3 times about shooting down a US drone but have never offered any proof to back up their claims. They have plenty of pictures of what the drones look like and constructing a fake fuselage is not hard to do so thier published picture of the drone is hardly slam dunk proof. Iran also claimed they can "control" the drone and that their existing technology is just a sophisticated as the technology in the drone. However, unless they have managed to put a command/control satellite system in place their claims of control are rather limited. All of these claims are also being made to cover up the fact that they cannot protect their military technology industrial sites. They have had a few "accidents" over the past few weeks that have destroyed an advanced missile development installation, a nuclear research installation, and the destruction of an installation that manufactures the steel used for munitions. And of course they still have egg on their face from the Stuxnet attack. Iran is playing a dangerous game. Saddam Hussein was always making claims of military prowess and exaggerated abilities and the US called his bluff. Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and all the other groups in the mid-east also tout their military abilities but if they keep it up sooner or later they will end up needing to prove it.
I claimed nothing. I just asked for facts to backup the theory of Iran hacking the drone. I have never been in the military but I have worked for companies that develop weapon systems for the US. My number one wish is for the US to entirely leave the middle east. Maintain basic consular services where needed or allowed but nothing else. This also includes Isreal because they are more than able to kick the shit out of the countries that threaten them. Without US aid Isreal has more freedom in conducting their military actions. Their domestic defense industry is quite capable and anything they can't produce domestically can be obtained from Russia and China. 90% of US aid to Isreal is dedicated to purchasing US weapon systems. Removing that aid would allow them to obtain weapons from other countries like China or Russia. Without US support Isreal will have no reason to temper their responses just to make sure aid keeps flowing. When the US military leaves the middle eastern countries can get back to killing one another as usual. The US has decreased it's reliance on oil from the middle east. Let Europe or China deal with the problems since both of those countries need oil from the middle east. This also includes leaving Afghanistan. India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are much more capable at harming one another. You might also want to look up what "fascist" really means before you go around making baseless statements.
There is absolutely no proof Iran took control of the drone remotely. None-Nada-Zip. Please provide any evidence that supports your statement. If remote access was possible all of the drones would be grounded immediately in the region and that is not happening.The real problem is people like you who take Iran's word as gospel as long as long as it harms the US. Every single shit hole country in the middle east gets the benefit of doubt on anything they say as long as they are targeting the US with their bullshit. The US government might tell some whoppers now and then but lying is practically a genetic trait in the middle east. The have lied to themselves and the world for so long they no longer recognize the truth.
A Russian company was providing on-site consultation at the time and had the access to deploy the USB containing the hack. They also share the US and Israeli objections to Iran developing nuclear weapons. Even the Wiki dumped documents revealed that there are quite a few other countries in the region who are against an Iranian nuclear weapons.The US or Isreal might have undercover assests in the Iranian program but accomplishing that would have been a major undertaking. The Iranians are not dumb and I imagine their background checks are quite thorough when it comes to staffing their high security installations.
The USSR confiscated just as much Germany rocket technology as the US did. The USSR did launch the first successful satellite that finally got the US government's attention. However, the USSR also launched a probe towards the moon but ended up missing by a wide margin. That probe is probably still on it's journey in space. I am surprised that the UUSR did not try to launch a manned mission to the moon after the US planted their flag there.
The US and Russia have put men in space but what purpose would it serve to concentrate putting more men in space when drones are more capable of exploring the solar system at a fraction of the cost?
NASA's existence and funding is practically guaranteed because the US government and military will never allow other countries to exceed the US space capabilities without a fight. Space is the ultimate high ground. The original moon landings were directly related to the US - USSR competition for space and technological advancements. Budgets can always be enlarged if necessary. As it is most countries in the world are still trying to develop tech the US had in the 60's.NASA is still a going concern although some people will never give them any credit unless they produce a warp drive.
The US provides health care related services using Medicare for the older people and Medicaid care for the poor. You can walk into any ER and receive medical services without any insurance. If you are in a car accident the hospital will work on you regardless of insurance or credit ratings. I have worked on apps for medicaid, medicare, and hospital billing applications and they all write off huge sums of money for unpaid health services. Even the 3rd party collection agencies who go after unpaid bills for profit write off huge amounts of money when thier collection attempts do not work. Many of them also hesitate to provide information that might effect a persons credit rating. There are also an significant number of organizations who operate free clinics for those in need. The system is not perfect but it is also not as bad as people think.
The US military military has advanced and funded the satellite and other technologies in use today. It's one thing for a scientist to publish their research but they do not usually get involved in actually turning their theories and discoveries into usable and practical technology. It is the engineers who take the scientist data and figure out a way to implement it. And what is the military preventing Intel and other similar companies from producing? I know for a fact there are certain technologies in use in advanced weaponry such as the F-22 but I consider that a justifiable measure. Other countries will catch up eventually but why make it easy for them? Classified military technology is warranted.
And I am the biggest tool around if we remove your presence from the site.
Slashdot Mirror
Any semi advanced country can produce the fuselage and overall geometry and ability to obscure heat exhausts to create a stealth fighter. The Germans had a wooden prototype designed back in the WW2 that had the same geometry that is similar to today's modern stealth planes. They just did not have the other necessary technology to make it feasible and in the end they ran out of time to pursue the project. The radar absorbing materials can also be created by others. These characteristics can be deduced by analysing pictures and have not really been a secret ever since the F-117 was first used in combat. But the F-117 was vulnerable to radar defense systems because the ECM capabilities were iffy. In the first Iraq war their flight plans needed to target the edges of the overlapping radar coverage air defense areas and relied on radio silence amongst the planes during the operation. They also relied on other assests launching simultaneous attacks on the radar systems to over load the detection systems. The F-117 downed in the Balkans happened because the aircraft was flying at a very low altitude and became visible by eyes on the ground. Stealth does not mean invisible to the naked eye, YET. Despite being described as a "fighter" it did not possess the maneuverability or defenses to avoid air or ground based missile attacks if they were detected. What the F-22 excels in is it's ECM and computer technology which not be deduced from a external pictures. Without advanced ECM and C&C capabilities the radar systems and missiles can theoretically detect a stealth craft even though it would not be easy.
The designing and production of the F-22 started about 20 years ago. The pilots who would be flying this aircraft were not even born yet. "By the time China becomes a real threat, the F-22 will be an old outdated piece of crap" The F-22 uses the most advanced aviation technology on the planet. The F-15 was built and deployed in 1972 and is still considered one of the most deadliest combat jets in the world. They have been constantly been updated for over 30 years so claiming the F-22 is going to be obsolete in the near future are totally false. As it stands there is not one military jet that even comes close to the F-22. During testing they used attack scenarios that pitted 1 F-22 against multiple F-15's just to try and make it a fair fight and even that didn't work.
Trying to locate one man on the planet who took elaborate precautions to avoid detection can take some time. Add the fact that some people within the Pakistani government, military, and ISI security services were most certainly protecting him also added problems for the people doing the search. The reason the US did not notify Pakistan prior to the raid is because their military and intelligence services are infested with people who actively support and use terrorist organizations as part of their foreign policy. Bin Laden would have been long gone if the US notified Pakistan in advance. I still don't know why the US has not cut ties and financial support to the country.
The Internet is the perfect system for spreading disinformation and lies. Opinions become facts and conspiracy theories replace reality. A well meaning person can setup a website discussion board that does nothing but turn into an echo chamber for those already who have already made up their mind about what is fact and their contributions just reinforce their beliefs with congratulating each other on their insight and forthrightness. A relatively normal person can setup and operate multiple sites that while appearing unrelated are really working together to support the same information. A National security service with resources to burn can take this same basic idea and shape the information they want everyone to see. Just include a few real and verifiable facts amongst all the other blatant and unsupported lies and you are off and running. In the past "Yellow Journalism" was used to manage information presented to the public but it became so obvious that the effectiveness degraded and other methods needed to be found. Hard copy books (such as history books) were required to be sourced and the publishers needed to fact check the content of the book before publication or they could face losing money if it was discovered they were were publishing out right lies and presenting them as facts. Besides a publishers reputation being harmed it also cost a substantial amount of money to publish and distribute hard copy books. Sure things slipped through now and then but the fact is the information was subjected to a verification process before it went to the printers. Newspapers have to be especially careful when publishing information as factual and when caught regularly publish retractions. That is why today's newspapers are weak on facts and tend to publish most of thier information as "opinions" and those "opinions" usually adhere to the paper's editorial lines that support a certain viewpoint or political ideology. Thus we end up with liberal and conservative slanted news services that use opinions instead of facts. After a while the regular audience can't tell the difference between a fact or opinion. It's been theorized that the next world war will use religion as it's catalyst (while obscuring the real reason which is power and money) but it is the Internet and it's ability to manipulate and spread information rapidly that will be the real driving force. We now have generations of people who have never had to live without access to the Internet and believe everything they see is true if it supports their own personal preferences which have themselves been created by what they see on the Internet. Selective filtering of facts, using and interpreting facts out of historical context, and the use of anecdotal evidence is what will ultimately cause the next world war and when it is over and civilization re-gains the ability to generate electricity and re-invent computer technology I hope we do it better the 2nd time but we probably won't but at least I will not be around to worry about it.
What Google uses might have used Linux as the starting point but what they actually use now is something entirely different. From their standpoint Linux was the most cost effective starting point on which to build their technology on. To them Linux was just a basically free and stable OS code base to start with. We are talking about a company that have their own proprietary processors designed and manufactured for their exclusive use. They never release any of their proprietary changes back to the community. Just like you will not see Big Table source code released either. You will never see any details regarding thier web server architectures. Their technology gives them an edge and they are not about to release anything that might benefit any of their competitors. Describing Google as an Open Source friendly company is ridiculous in the extreme. Other companies using Linux also tend to keep their changes to themselves instead of releasing the source code. Only after the changes become basically obsolete do you see these companies throw the open source community a bone.
The 3 laws were a device intended to produce science fiction stories. The 4th law was a device to ensure more sequels to the original stories.
You comment is just as uninformed and idiotic as the first. I have 27 years experience in software development and system design. I have the right to express my opinions just like anyone else.
How much code does it take to pay your mortgage?
That's why the really high paying jobs are contracted out to 3rd parties. There are quite a few 3rd party companies that use the same rigorous background checks and security clearances so they can work for the various military organizations. The Army, Navy, and Marine pay scale does not come close to attracting top of the line technical people so they outsource.
Why is anyone who operates a business to make a profit always referred to as "greedy bastards"? How do you know these greedy bastards "don't like" releasing updates? Has someone announced that as their official policy or are you just making shit up?
"Things being banned by international treaty has never stopped the US before...." It hasn't stopped any other country either. National interests will always trump treaties when push comes to shove.
If HP or any other hardware vendor actually want their products to sell they need to supply the drivers for the various OS's. Releasing new hardware and then waiting on someone else to build the drivers is not exactly a wise strategy.
Corporation business practices need to be changed but no matter how bad their behavior is they do provide employment and paychecks to a hell of a lot of ordinary people. Taking on corporations using a scorched earth approach usually results in a lot of people losing their jobs. This needs to be taking into consideration when formulating the changes being requested. Those who participate in public rallies and protests are too vague when it comes to defining the changes being put forward. The recent Occupy protests were poorly targeted and the protests ended up focusing primarily on the right to protest! Stop protesting entire industries and start focusing on 1 corporation at a time. Corporate leaders avoid the bright lights and hate being required to personally respond to media requests for explanations and clarifications. Publicly traded corporations are required by law to publish a large amount of detailed corporate information that can be utilized as ammunition when going after them. Intelligently targeting top level executives, CEO's, and Board members can bring the protests down to a personal level where the odds for making changes are much better. Rampaging down the street breaking windows and screaming clever slogans rarely produce any results.
There are some puzzling questions about this entire event. The US knew where the drone was grounded and contemplated launching a military raid to recover it but decided not to do so. The US could have also destroyed the drone with a missile strike if they were worried about Iran getting their hands on the technology but they did not do that either. And is anyone so naive that they believe the drones with advanced technology do not have self-destruct capabilities? The Iranians could not have stopped these efforts to destroy the drone so why did the US let them have it? Iran has previously claimed 3 times about shooting down a US drone but have never offered any proof to back up their claims. They have plenty of pictures of what the drones look like and constructing a fake fuselage is not hard to do so thier published picture of the drone is hardly slam dunk proof. Iran also claimed they can "control" the drone and that their existing technology is just a sophisticated as the technology in the drone. However, unless they have managed to put a command/control satellite system in place their claims of control are rather limited. All of these claims are also being made to cover up the fact that they cannot protect their military technology industrial sites. They have had a few "accidents" over the past few weeks that have destroyed an advanced missile development installation, a nuclear research installation, and the destruction of an installation that manufactures the steel used for munitions. And of course they still have egg on their face from the Stuxnet attack. Iran is playing a dangerous game. Saddam Hussein was always making claims of military prowess and exaggerated abilities and the US called his bluff. Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and all the other groups in the mid-east also tout their military abilities but if they keep it up sooner or later they will end up needing to prove it.
I claimed nothing. I just asked for facts to backup the theory of Iran hacking the drone. I have never been in the military but I have worked for companies that develop weapon systems for the US. My number one wish is for the US to entirely leave the middle east. Maintain basic consular services where needed or allowed but nothing else. This also includes Isreal because they are more than able to kick the shit out of the countries that threaten them. Without US aid Isreal has more freedom in conducting their military actions. Their domestic defense industry is quite capable and anything they can't produce domestically can be obtained from Russia and China. 90% of US aid to Isreal is dedicated to purchasing US weapon systems. Removing that aid would allow them to obtain weapons from other countries like China or Russia. Without US support Isreal will have no reason to temper their responses just to make sure aid keeps flowing. When the US military leaves the middle eastern countries can get back to killing one another as usual. The US has decreased it's reliance on oil from the middle east. Let Europe or China deal with the problems since both of those countries need oil from the middle east. This also includes leaving Afghanistan. India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are much more capable at harming one another. You might also want to look up what "fascist" really means before you go around making baseless statements.
There is absolutely no proof Iran took control of the drone remotely. None-Nada-Zip. Please provide any evidence that supports your statement. If remote access was possible all of the drones would be grounded immediately in the region and that is not happening.The real problem is people like you who take Iran's word as gospel as long as long as it harms the US. Every single shit hole country in the middle east gets the benefit of doubt on anything they say as long as they are targeting the US with their bullshit. The US government might tell some whoppers now and then but lying is practically a genetic trait in the middle east. The have lied to themselves and the world for so long they no longer recognize the truth.
Especially when compared to the number deaths caused by mining and oil dilling.
A Russian company was providing on-site consultation at the time and had the access to deploy the USB containing the hack. They also share the US and Israeli objections to Iran developing nuclear weapons. Even the Wiki dumped documents revealed that there are quite a few other countries in the region who are against an Iranian nuclear weapons.The US or Isreal might have undercover assests in the Iranian program but accomplishing that would have been a major undertaking. The Iranians are not dumb and I imagine their background checks are quite thorough when it comes to staffing their high security installations.
The USSR confiscated just as much Germany rocket technology as the US did. The USSR did launch the first successful satellite that finally got the US government's attention. However, the USSR also launched a probe towards the moon but ended up missing by a wide margin. That probe is probably still on it's journey in space. I am surprised that the UUSR did not try to launch a manned mission to the moon after the US planted their flag there.
The US and Russia have put men in space but what purpose would it serve to concentrate putting more men in space when drones are more capable of exploring the solar system at a fraction of the cost?
"Cold war is over" The US competed with the USSR during the cold war but the US is now competing with China for technical and economic dominance.
NASA's existence and funding is practically guaranteed because the US government and military will never allow other countries to exceed the US space capabilities without a fight. Space is the ultimate high ground. The original moon landings were directly related to the US - USSR competition for space and technological advancements. Budgets can always be enlarged if necessary. As it is most countries in the world are still trying to develop tech the US had in the 60's.NASA is still a going concern although some people will never give them any credit unless they produce a warp drive.
The US provides health care related services using Medicare for the older people and Medicaid care for the poor. You can walk into any ER and receive medical services without any insurance. If you are in a car accident the hospital will work on you regardless of insurance or credit ratings. I have worked on apps for medicaid, medicare, and hospital billing applications and they all write off huge sums of money for unpaid health services. Even the 3rd party collection agencies who go after unpaid bills for profit write off huge amounts of money when thier collection attempts do not work. Many of them also hesitate to provide information that might effect a persons credit rating. There are also an significant number of organizations who operate free clinics for those in need. The system is not perfect but it is also not as bad as people think.
How many brilliant film producers are going to front a couple of million dollars to see their work through completion?
The US military military has advanced and funded the satellite and other technologies in use today. It's one thing for a scientist to publish their research but they do not usually get involved in actually turning their theories and discoveries into usable and practical technology. It is the engineers who take the scientist data and figure out a way to implement it. And what is the military preventing Intel and other similar companies from producing? I know for a fact there are certain technologies in use in advanced weaponry such as the F-22 but I consider that a justifiable measure. Other countries will catch up eventually but why make it easy for them? Classified military technology is warranted. And I am the biggest tool around if we remove your presence from the site.