RE: [xml-dev] [FOSI] was RE: [xml-dev] XML has arrived

["Andrew S. Townley" <ast@atownley.org>]

David,

The types of things Len is talking about are at the heart of some of the
key challenges to actually deliver the Federal Information Sharing
program usefully.  Bear in mind that the guys in the field he mentioned
also may not have a high bandwidth or reliable link back to the Pentagon
or the contractors, some degree of latency associated with those issues
as well as potentially being shot at while they're trying to do
something about the problem at hand.

To me, this set of constraints really makes the problem interesting when
you're talking about IS in a battlefield context.  On one hand, you want
to be able to push only the information needed to the people that need
it, but at the same time those same people need to have some vague idea
of what it is they don't know or haven't seen.  I've been looking at the
problem from an SOA perspective, but in most of the discussions I've had
with people, the issues and suggestions that Len is talking about
haven't come up at all.  The underlying issues are going to be key to
deliver things like ad-hoc, ubiquitous computing, location-based
services and all that jazz in the private sector, but don't assume all
the pieces are already in the right places (even if the right place is a
different audience for an existing solution).

I agree with Len:  it's not about politics, it's about people.

ast

On Thu, 2006-11-02 at 14:20, Len Bullard wrote:
> 1)  We care.  Those are our people out there.  Politics only enter into that
> obligation as regards procurement.  Never break faith with those who have
> not broken faith with you.  It sounds cherry, but that is what team means.
> 
> 2)  They use ANYTHING to make repairs.  During one brouhaha, the repair guys
> told me they collected soda cans, cut them, and used them patch flak holes.
> They will disassemble and reassemble anything from spare parts even if the
> vendor told them not to.  There are no Radio Shacks in the Indian Ocean.
> 
> 3)  Real-time X3D can do things PDF can't do.  Drilldown IS the problem.  It
> is faster and much more informative to jump to the correct viewpoint and
> auto rotate into position.  It is also easy to convert the CAD drawings into
> X3D than any PDF.  Try chat inside PDF.  Now try it inside even the cheapest
> 3D with freeware and unencumbered IP.  If your customers don't get this,
> then they are about to spend themselves poor.
> 
> 4) Parts handling databases are already advanced.  That bit most of us
> understand.
> 
> 5) Running forever.  See B52 and HAWK.  Hardware systems often outlive
> software operating systems and programming languages.  Not news.
> 
> len
> 
> 
> From: david.lyon@preisshare.net [mailto:david.lyon@preisshare.net] 
> Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 10:50 PM
> 
> I couldn't tell you. It amazed me when I found out and still even to  
> this day to find that all/most modern steal warships *still* carry  
> extra planks of wood to do (conflict) repairs. The reason is that it  
> can be made quickly into anyshape and is strong enough to be  
> indespensable. Makes a lot of sense actually when you think about it.
> 
> My own response is that I don't think the particular war machine that  
> you are talking about is that interested in keeping things going and  
> in good running shape forever like some other countries in the world  
> that I can think of - not look too far away :-)
> 
> Therefore not much need for technical catalogs and parts lookups...  
> just sell the junk off to a so called Allied country and let them fix  
> it. Make a new one and use that for a while till the paint fades or  
> the seats wear.
> 
> I work with parts-lookup products on a regular basis and can tell you  
> that they are more and more sophisticated every year. PartSmart is  
> quite a good product and does most things that you are talking about.  
> The europeans have lots and many are slick.
> 
> 3D is not so important. Most drawings can be reasonably represented in  
> PDF as long as sufficient drilldown is provided.
> 
> Parts price handling is another ballgame however. And is a real  
> problem in the industrial world. In the last 24 hours alone, we loaded  
> 85,000 new parts into one particular product database.
> 
> There's still a lot of room for improvement in that area..
> 
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Andrew S. Townley <ast@atownley.org>
http://atownley.org