I realize that Wal-Mart is trying to reach the lower end of the market, but what about a good copy of Slackware and an Ebay bargain? Something tells me that a.) you will get a better installation (you will do it yourself and b.) there will be a little more horsepower for your buck with that purchase from Ebay. Just my $0.02, as that's what I did.
I somehow have a feeling that what they are trying to do, just like every other application I have seen (projection through smoke, etc), is not going to turn out quite with either the resolution or clarity they want.
I hope it works out, sign me up if it does, but I definitely have my reserve about their claims.
I see that lots of you are tearing down on the development of weapons in the context of terrorism and such. But lots of these technologies are being applied to law enforcement as well. Smart rounds being the best example. Some of these new ammunitions are based on 'smart-metal' designs that can penetrate metal or body armor, but stop and fragment when it hits tissue. Sounds bad, but would have been a great solution to the armored bank robbers in LA several years ago. Those cops did nothing but blanket a neighborhood with random shots because they were useless against soft body armor. So look at the positives of the whole argument.
As far as weapons go, there isn't really anything that the Army isn't developing that you can't see. Most all of the classified projects are only related to intelligence gathering or stealth platforms. Traditional weapons platforms are pretty much fair game for the public to peruse, such as the Land Warrior project or the XM8 (Which is being fielded soon).
http://www.hk-usa.com/pages/military-le/rifles-c ar bines/xm8.html
Coincidentally, I just saw a program on this tonight on History Channel. Considering that the rate of fire on existing weapons max out at around 6,000 rounds per minute, it's a large step forward. For those of you that might be interested, it takes magazines of caseless rounds and electronically ignites the detonator in the round. By doing this, it effectively removes most of the mechanical limits of firing from the weapon.
Being in the Army and having fired some very cool weapons, I've got to say this needs to be seen to be believed. What I saw tonight was out of this world.
And for those that want to check it out: http://www.metalstorm.com/04_video_latest.ht ml
Slashdot Mirror
I realize that Wal-Mart is trying to reach the lower end of the market, but what about a good copy of Slackware and an Ebay bargain? Something tells me that a.) you will get a better installation (you will do it yourself and b.) there will be a little more horsepower for your buck with that purchase from Ebay. Just my $0.02, as that's what I did.
I somehow have a feeling that what they are trying to do, just like every other application I have seen (projection through smoke, etc), is not going to turn out quite with either the resolution or clarity they want. I hope it works out, sign me up if it does, but I definitely have my reserve about their claims.
I see that lots of you are tearing down on the development of weapons in the context of terrorism and such. But lots of these technologies are being applied to law enforcement as well. Smart rounds being the best example. Some of these new ammunitions are based on 'smart-metal' designs that can penetrate metal or body armor, but stop and fragment when it hits tissue. Sounds bad, but would have been a great solution to the armored bank robbers in LA several years ago. Those cops did nothing but blanket a neighborhood with random shots because they were useless against soft body armor. So look at the positives of the whole argument.
As far as weapons go, there isn't really anything that the Army isn't developing that you can't see. Most all of the classified projects are only related to intelligence gathering or stealth platforms. Traditional weapons platforms are pretty much fair game for the public to peruse, such as the Land Warrior project or the XM8 (Which is being fielded soon).
c ar bines/xm8.html
http://www.hk-usa.com/pages/military-le/rifles-
Coincidentally, I just saw a program on this tonight on History Channel. Considering that the rate of fire on existing weapons max out at around 6,000 rounds per minute, it's a large step forward. For those of you that might be interested, it takes magazines of caseless rounds and electronically ignites the detonator in the round. By doing this, it effectively removes most of the mechanical limits of firing from the weapon.
t ml
Being in the Army and having fired some very cool weapons, I've got to say this needs to be seen to be believed. What I saw tonight was out of this world.
And for those that want to check it out:
http://www.metalstorm.com/04_video_latest.h
(sorry, don't know how to embed URL's)