Windows is the defacto choice for most of.mil because of one simple fact:
It's what 95+% of.mil staff use at home.
What does this mean? In the civilian sector, an administrator is hired because he is the right person for the job. He/She submits a resume outlining his training, past job experiences, and his goals. He is interviewed (normally multiple times) before he's selected to fill a position in company X. But in the military arena, you don't apply for an administrator job, you are not interviewed - you are assigned to one. This is not the best way to handle IT manning, but unfortunately, it is the only means available to the military.
If a military IT shop (for example: an AFNCC - Air Force Network Control Center) has to fill its positions with personnel handed to them with no regard for their training, experience, or even interest in working in IT, what operating system do you base your infrastructure on? Answer: the one they are already familiar with - Microsoft Windows.
Many in the IT career fields (AFSC, MOS, etc.) in the military are not there by choice. When they enlisted in the military, it was the field they were placed in. Many of these people have no real interest in the jobs they are doing. In the civilian world, you try to work in a job you have an interest in. This is very true in the IT realm. How many administrators, engineers, or programmers do you know that don't enjoy working with computers? I don't know many. But in my ten years in the Air Force, I would say nearly half of all co-workers had no interest in computers what-so-ever. They were simply filling a position. They could have been filling any number of positons (webserver admin, network admin, system maintanence) with little to no training. With such limited training and so many personnel not even interested in their job, what OS do you base your infrastructure on? Again: the one the available personnel are already familiar with - Microsoft Windows.
Until something other than Microsoft Windows finds it way onto the desktop of home users, the military will be forced to use Windows as it primary OS. If the military did decide to move away from Windows, even if it still held a vast majority of the home desktop, they would have to make a strong committment to truly train their personnel. Unfortunately, I doubt this will happen.
Windows will continue to be the military's OS of choice for many years to come.
While the wording of my question apparently betrays my feelings on this subject, I really was simply trying to solicit responses to "pacifists" and those who call themselves "pacifists".
I guess I should answer my own question.
I would not "lash out blindly" as a previous/.er assumed I would nor would I "go kill his children" as another suggested. I would simply ask him to apologize. If, after an acceptable amount of time had passed, he did not, I would assess the risk that he may punch me (not neccessarily in the eye) again. If the risk of him repeating these acts were great enough, I would obliterate him, ensuring the safety of my body.
(NOTE: I do understand that even if he apologized, he may still atack me.)
I am a simple person. This simpleness gives me comfort.
you were hit in the eye and while you stood there trying to figure out if it was an accident, you were slugged in the other eye - this second hit confirming the first was no accident?
OK... I should correct myself. The previous comment only applies to the whiney, ultra-liberal American/. crowd. Excuse me for being so, umm... American.
Thank you for saying that! I agree with you 100%, I just wish more of this whiney ultra-liberal/. crowd would remember *WHY* they get to be so whiney and ultra-liberal.
Oh? I disagree. In general, a corporation has no right to dictate how I use their product after I buy it.
Tell that to the MPAA and RIAA. They've been telling us what we can and cannot do with the products we buy for years (especially the MPAA - DVDs). What's so different with this case? M$ is doing the exact same thing. Soon enough, laws will on the books that will make all these completely legal and we'll all have to shut our mouths or go to jail.
WTF do you know about leading men? Have you ever had to *LEAD* anything? I seriously doubt it. President Bush (remember, he is the PRESIDENT - respect is in order) is in a position you cannot even began to understand (nor can I). Any decisions he makes are undoubtly 1000 times more thought out than any decision you have *EVER* made.
Think before you speak. You sound like a hateful little man still pissed about the election.
Whoa! MAN! You're joking, right? Please tell me your joking. If you're not, please tell me where you live so I can be sure to stay far away from that place.
No shit?!?! Their product is called Yellow Dog Linux. How in the name of Jesus and hot chocolate did I miss THAT? Call me a troll, but I'm waiting for Blue-Baboon-Ass Linux.
You know... when I left the U.S. (6 years ago) I was starting to become annoyed with American television. Since then, I've been back to various parts of the continental U.S. and Hawaii several times for 2 - 3 week stretches. Each time I've noticed American television gets dumber and dumber and dumber. It's been dumbed down to the pointed I'm actually insulted when I watch it (and I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed).
I used to think television in Japan was bad, but over the years I've realized it's stupid, but it's *OPENLY STUPID*. The creators know it's stupid, the viewers know it's stupid... it's stupid-fun stupid. The creators of American television programming really do think we're all morons. FUCK THEM and FUCK T.V. I'll stick with my BOOKS (WTF are those?) and the few DVDs I own (so few because the movie industry sucks even more!).
Isn't the bottom line here simply this - WE'RE SCREWED AND THERE IS NOTHING *WE* CAN DO ABOUT IT.
The corps have the one advantage they need: Most people don't give a RATS ASS about the MPAA/DVDCCA's scheme, let alone even BEGIN to understand it. Remember folks, *WE'RE* in the minority.
If I'm wrong on this, flame my ass. If there is something *WE* can do, please enlighten me. BUT, don't give me some long rant on free speech and the size of your penis. Give me a real answer. What can I, Joe Schmuck Anybody, REALLY do about this?
It's fucking amazing how wrong ALL of you are! America, Europe, Asia... IT'S ALL THE FUCKING SAME. Corps control the Gov in America. Corps OWN the government in Japan (Zaibatsu - ever heard of that).
Please. All you Euro-fags -- Don't even think your govs aren't run by the corps. THEY ARE! MORONS!
Funny. I see this damned robot walk up stairs almost everyday on TV. Honda has been running a commercial for the P3 here in Tokyo for at least a year now. He's walking up a flight of subway stairs with a bunch of kids following and imitating him/her/it.
Interesting.... I wonder if they just preprogrammed the stair's height for the commercial.
Whatever the case, the thing is just cool. I've even got a model of the prior version on my desk at work. That guy/girl/thing is sort of popular here. It's geek-chic I guess.
Jesus. Can anyone take a fucking joke anymore? This was supposed to be fun. Who cares if Hemos changed it up and it lost some of the humor (which I don't believe)!?! IT WAS A FUCKING JOKE!
For once, I would like to read/. and not have sift through crap like this. You must have Hemos envy (or CmdrTaco envy, Cliff envy, etc.)! Thats it. All you folks who constantly dog the good poeple who "run"/. must be jealous. FUCKING JEALOUS!!! Yeah. That's it. Just like penis envy! You losers wish you were as big as them!!
Slashdot Mirror
Windows is the defacto choice for most of .mil because of one simple fact:
It's what 95+% of .mil staff use at home.
What does this mean? In the civilian sector, an administrator is hired because he is the right person for the job. He/She submits a resume outlining his training, past job experiences, and his goals. He is interviewed (normally multiple times) before he's selected to fill a position in company X. But in the military arena, you don't apply for an administrator job, you are not interviewed - you are assigned to one. This is not the best way to handle IT manning, but unfortunately, it is the only means available to the military.
If a military IT shop (for example: an AFNCC - Air Force Network Control Center) has to fill its positions with personnel handed to them with no regard for their training, experience, or even interest in working in IT, what operating system do you base your infrastructure on? Answer: the one they are already familiar with - Microsoft Windows.
Many in the IT career fields (AFSC, MOS, etc.) in the military are not there by choice. When they enlisted in the military, it was the field they were placed in. Many of these people have no real interest in the jobs they are doing. In the civilian world, you try to work in a job you have an interest in. This is very true in the IT realm. How many administrators, engineers, or programmers do you know that don't enjoy working with computers? I don't know many. But in my ten years in the Air Force, I would say nearly half of all co-workers had no interest in computers what-so-ever. They were simply filling a position. They could have been filling any number of positons (webserver admin, network admin, system maintanence) with little to no training. With such limited training and so many personnel not even interested in their job, what OS do you base your infrastructure on? Again: the one the available personnel are already familiar with - Microsoft Windows.
Until something other than Microsoft Windows finds it way onto the desktop of home users, the military will be forced to use Windows as it primary OS. If the military did decide to move away from Windows, even if it still held a vast majority of the home desktop, they would have to make a strong committment to truly train their personnel. Unfortunately, I doubt this will happen.
Windows will continue to be the military's OS of choice for many years to come.
"I think the US is trying the slapping around path. "
Yes. I think you are correct.
Actually, I think I have.
The intelligence of the question is not what most are questioning. It's the intelligence of the responses.
As for your response... well...
How brave of you to post as an AC.
While the wording of my question apparently betrays my feelings on this subject, I really was simply trying to solicit responses to "pacifists" and those who call themselves "pacifists".
I guess I should answer my own question.
I would not "lash out blindly" as a previous /.er assumed I would nor would I "go kill his children" as another suggested. I would simply ask him to apologize. If, after an acceptable amount of time had passed, he did not, I would assess the risk that he may punch me (not neccessarily in the eye) again. If the risk of him repeating these acts were great enough, I would obliterate him, ensuring the safety of my body.
(NOTE: I do understand that even if he apologized, he may still atack me.)
I am a simple person. This simpleness gives me comfort.
I'm really curious. What would you do if...
you were hit in the eye and while you stood there trying to figure out if it was an accident, you were slugged in the other eye - this second hit confirming the first was no accident?
What would you do? Just wondering.
OK... I should correct myself. The previous comment only applies to the whiney, ultra-liberal American /. crowd. Excuse me for being so, umm... American.
Did you have an orgasm after you wrote that? It definitely sounded like masturbation to me.
Thank you for saying that! I agree with you 100%, I just wish more of this whiney ultra-liberal /. crowd would remember *WHY* they get to be so whiney and ultra-liberal.
Oh? I disagree. In general, a corporation has no right to dictate how I use their product after I buy it.
Tell that to the MPAA and RIAA. They've been telling us what we can and cannot do with the products we buy for years (especially the MPAA - DVDs). What's so different with this case? M$ is doing the exact same thing. Soon enough, laws will on the books that will make all these completely legal and we'll all have to shut our mouths or go to jail.
WTF do you know about leading men? Have you ever had to *LEAD* anything? I seriously doubt it. President Bush (remember, he is the PRESIDENT - respect is in order) is in a position you cannot even began to understand (nor can I). Any decisions he makes are undoubtly 1000 times more thought out than any decision you have *EVER* made.
Think before you speak. You sound like a hateful little man still pissed about the election.
Yeah ok. And I bet you LOVE Rage Against the Machine too.
Whoa! MAN! You're joking, right? Please tell me your joking. If you're not, please tell me where you live so I can be sure to stay far away from that place.
OK... flaimbait. I know, but I had to say it.
No shit?!?! Their product is called Yellow Dog Linux. How in the name of Jesus and hot chocolate did I miss THAT? Call me a troll, but I'm waiting for Blue-Baboon-Ass Linux.
Word!
--
Kir
I'm sorry, but... ummm... they're YELLOW!
Not blue, or red, or hell... artic camouflage (you know... the bluish white kind) would've ROCKED.
Word!
--
Kir
...but not Office XP.
Word!
--
Kir
Computer, hell... the car I want always costs $5000! I should stop spending my hard earned money on misc. hardware and beer.
Word!
--
Kir
Holy crap. $5000?? I could even afford that. Can you say... pr0n server!!!!
Word!
--
Kir
YEAH! Slashdot is the perfect fucking forum for corroboration!!
Word!
--
Kir
You know... when I left the U.S. (6 years ago) I was starting to become annoyed with American television. Since then, I've been back to various parts of the continental U.S. and Hawaii several times for 2 - 3 week stretches. Each time I've noticed American television gets dumber and dumber and dumber. It's been dumbed down to the pointed I'm actually insulted when I watch it (and I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed).
I used to think television in Japan was bad, but over the years I've realized it's stupid, but it's *OPENLY STUPID*. The creators know it's stupid, the viewers know it's stupid... it's stupid-fun stupid. The creators of American television programming really do think we're all morons. FUCK THEM and FUCK T.V. I'll stick with my BOOKS (WTF are those?) and the few DVDs I own (so few because the movie industry sucks even more!).
Word!
--
Kir
Isn't the bottom line here simply this - WE'RE SCREWED AND THERE IS NOTHING *WE* CAN DO ABOUT IT.
The corps have the one advantage they need: Most people don't give a RATS ASS about the MPAA/DVDCCA's scheme, let alone even BEGIN to understand it. Remember folks, *WE'RE* in the minority.
If I'm wrong on this, flame my ass. If there is something *WE* can do, please enlighten me. BUT, don't give me some long rant on free speech and the size of your penis. Give me a real answer. What can I, Joe Schmuck Anybody, REALLY do about this?
Word!
--
Kir
I fucking HATE humans!
Word!
--
Kir
It's fucking amazing how wrong ALL of you are! America, Europe, Asia... IT'S ALL THE FUCKING SAME. Corps control the Gov in America. Corps OWN the government in Japan (Zaibatsu - ever heard of that).
Please. All you Euro-fags -- Don't even think your govs aren't run by the corps. THEY ARE! MORONS!
Word!
--
Kir
Funny. I see this damned robot walk up stairs almost everyday on TV. Honda has been running a commercial for the P3 here in Tokyo for at least a year now. He's walking up a flight of subway stairs with a bunch of kids following and imitating him/her/it.
Interesting.... I wonder if they just preprogrammed the stair's height for the commercial.
Whatever the case, the thing is just cool. I've even got a model of the prior version on my desk at work. That guy/girl/thing is sort of popular here. It's geek-chic I guess.
Word!
--
Kir
Jesus. Can anyone take a fucking joke anymore? This was supposed to be fun. Who cares if Hemos changed it up and it lost some of the humor (which I don't believe)!?! IT WAS A FUCKING JOKE!
For once, I would like to read /. and not have sift through crap like this. You must have Hemos envy (or CmdrTaco envy, Cliff envy, etc.)! Thats it. All you folks who constantly dog the good poeple who "run" /. must be jealous. FUCKING JEALOUS!!! Yeah. That's it. Just like penis envy! You losers wish you were as big as them!!
Word!
--
Kir