And so it is.  I don't even have a cell phone although I gave one to my
wife.

As for Jabber, we were looking seriously at that for integrated public
safety systems.  PS is just real-time command and control 365 x 7 x 24.  One
military system I looked into read just like the specs I saw for PS
dispatch; it was simply more web capable than the PS systems (a late adopter
market if ever there was one).  Northrop-Grumman could be cleaning clocks in
the public safety and transportation markets if they reapplied the same
off-the-shelf technologies that their military divisions have developed and
it would make some of the more advanced proposals for HLS doable sooner
rather than later.  Fiefdoms... sheesh.

<soapbox>Too much of the HLS money is going down research ratholes instead
of into designs that can be procured now rather than ten years from
now.</soapbox>

OTOH, let's say you are in BoonieHaha somewhere in a sandstorm with a
wrongdong assembly torn out and you are trying to upgrade it for the first
time with the newly shipped whazzenhammer.   It is always tough the first
time, so you are in a live chat mode with the contractors back in the States
and you are both looking at the same real-time 3D model decimated down from
the original CAD models, integrated with the parts list and
assembly/disassembly procedures.  There is absolutely nothing cutting edge
or exotic about that technology to any of us who are familiar with 3D chat
rooms with voice synths and/or VOIP.  Cheap off the shelf.  Of course, the
diagnostics are live too so that is another data set the XML communications
server is handling.  Look at ABNet for starters.

All common workstation mojo.  The CD player is optional.  The chill is
getting the digital data from the original drawings.  The W3DC CAD WG made
that possible sometime back.  You can even use Collada for interchange.

But it takes a concerted effort from the Tri-service civil servants to make
it happen and they have to plan and fund it. The technical information food
chain is a long one and there are lots of logistics pieces that have to fit
together in new contracts, training and procurement.  Again, Betty knows
this drill.  Heck John Junod was talking this scenario 12 years ago when we
were working on the MID.  Turned out, he was right.

Someone is working on it.  Guaranteed.  The contractors and the government
all know what the high costs of buying IETMs using the equipment vendor
proprietary IETM systems are.   That is why the USA IADS program is still
running lo this many moons later.  With VISTA coming out soon, someone is
working on a new system one really hopes because a lot of our people are out
in that desert and could use some creative fast work back here to help out.

len

From: david.lyon@p... [mailto:david.lyon@p...] 

Len Bullard <cbullard@h...>:

> Still, there is a lot we could do for the guys and gals in the desert with
> real time chat, integrated real-time 3D, VOIP and so on.  I'd like that a
> lot.  After the last nine years of being on the sidelines fuming, it would
> be good to be working on something worthy for the last fifteen.

But IM is banned in a lot of workplaces because it is too distracting.

I believe they allow CD players in the tanks and rock music when they  
go on shoot-em-ups as the two are fairly complimentory.

You can always try to put together something with Jabber if you have a  
good idea... :-) it's xml based..