I prefer my input devices to be as _______ as possible.

Coffee/Soda/Food Resistant

The great majority of children are already able to learn better and faster individually, with technology, than in classrooms. The question has now become "Under what circumstances, conditions, and at what levels should classroom education be maintained?"

Autonymous collectives are the way to go!

You sir, are an optimist!

JSTARS is not built on the C-135 airframe, exactly, but they share a common ancestor. JSTARS aircraft were built on a number of different commercially available used Boeing 707 variants. Essentially, each one was a custom installation. Air Mobility Command could not spare any viable KC-135 airframes for JSTARS, as they needed every refueler they could manage to maintain the fleet to meet unified command requirements. The other special purpose EC/RC/OC-135s were not available either, as their missions took precedence over the JSTARS effort.

The JSTARS program likely will not receive adequate funds to purchase another airframe and integrate the equipment. It's more likely that the JSTARS equipment and viable airframe parts form this aircraft will be salvaged for spares to extend the lives of the remaining JSTARS aircraft. Other platforms are more likely to be funded to absorb portions of the JSTARS capability. This decision will be driven by high and growing supportability costs for JSTARS.

Spectrum in the US is allocated through an arcane, bureaucratic process that takes years to balance the needs of the government (NTIA) and the needs of individuals and businesses (FCC). Broadband For America, which aims to reallocate 500 MHz of "wireless" spectrum for commercial use will likely cost the DoD alone high tens to hundreds of billions of our tax dollars to implement. It will also take several years, due to the necessity of re-engineering of fielded equipment and software.

That spectrum which appears to be "unused" may be reserved for equipment in development, experimentation, or wartime uses. It may also be reserved for scenarios where all hell breaks loose here at home (e.g., 9-11) and the goverment can't afford to be competing with Twitter and Facebook for bandwidth.

Apparently they were mistakenly providing mobile numbers to sites that had not paid for them!

I need VGA or DVI support until my current LCD monitors fail or are surpassed by glasses free, no headache, uber 3D capability (yeah right). I imagine that many businesses and the government are in the same boat. If that support has to come via an external HDMI to DVI/VGA adapter, well, we've been there before (DVI to VGA).

If it is welcomed with alcohol and/or food, I will celebrate it!

Is a zombie turing test, so we know we're not being fooled by our robot overlords!

Only if they are unpriveleged users, otherwise:

$ sudo su

password: -user password-

#

To be fair to the hardworking acquisition troops in DoD, the Predator and Reaper were demonstrated and fielded through a short-cut process for fielding new capabilities quickly. When the normally thorough system design process is "streamlined" (or bypassed) to rapidly field a new capability, bad stuff can and does happen. Thus, the acquisition axiom, 'When you want it real bad, that's usually how you get it." As an example, of all the recorded predator losses through 2009, only ~3% were lost to enemy action (i.e., shot down). That means that rest crashed for other reasons like design flaws, equipment failure and pilot error. Not exactly what they projected for expected losses.

Commanders in the field are willing to accept risks to get a capability faster, but those risks are not always easy to predict, as this virus issue shows. For the GCS, the virus updates, map updates and any other software updates would have to be transferred from Internet connected systems. Media screening procedures were certainly put in place. It is a sub-opitimal solution, but not a tremendous risk given the system's isolation and controls in place. This event was, most likely, a process violation that led to an MBR infection, vice a system failure. In some cases risks are easier to predict, such as lack of logistics support for newly fielded systems that have not gone through a detailed logistics analysis and planning phase. The loggies then have to play catch up on supply chain, maintenance training, sparing levels and supportability planning.

To be fair to the accelerated processes, they meet a very real need to improve mission capability quickly. Balancing risk vs capability must prioritize those that choose to go forth and fight the war.

I strive to remain current on numerous OSs, including Android, Linux Client & Server (current fave Xubuntu) & Windows Client (now just XP - 7). Hands-on experience is the only way to remain familiar and current. Just don't have a need, the money, time or inclination for iOS, Lion or Windows server. That's what friends are for!

That none of the MPs like to pound the table with their papers, er, iPads!

There are no time zones on a generation ship, sailing the starry expanse!