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From: duerr@motcid.UUCP (Michael L. Duerr)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: Computers as weapons
Message-ID: <1739@limbo.Intuitive.Com>
Date: 7 Feb 91 07:50:48 GMT
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> Paul George writes:
 
> Reality here rears its ugly head.  If you wish to work on advanced
> software in a networked unix environment or with the luxury of fast
> equipment & tools (like news), you end up with an aerospace company.

My current work in telecomm is more advanced than anything I did for the 
military.  Many weapons programs require extended temperature range or 
radiation proof hardware, which tends to limit you to technology that is
in other respects several years old.  Try getting a 100 MHz Hi-rel SPARC,
or a rad-hard DSP56116!  

I think the opportunity to work in a heavily capitalized, hi-tech 
environment may often correlate with the size of a company - aerospace
being large almost by definition - and with the type of product.  The
highest manufacturing technology, in fact, is probably in Japanese
consumer electronics.  For programmers, if you really want to
deal with Military Software QA, MIL documentation, and so on, then the
Military is the place.  But remember, the first Unix came from a 
commercial site, as did the first networked Unix, the first SQL, and
I believe the first real-time extensions to Yourdan-Demarco methodology.
The DOD was the first to create Ada, for whatever that is worth.
For high tech in anything but airframe design and RF communications, I'd 
take civilian any day.

Most program managers for weapons and intelligence programs are unwilling
to take a chance on anything that is not tried and true, especially in
todays environment of fixed price development.  The customer often will
shy away as well, usually due to perceived schedule and technical risk
for anything new.

Having switched from Military to Commercial, I have NO plans to ever
go back.  I just regret not having jumped sooner.

Michael