4 Nov
2011
4 Nov
'11
9:10 a.m.
On 11/04/2011 12:59 AM, leaknoil wrote:
"What is it" could be most anything. As for why it can't be ported,
well shit, man, of course it can. It just WON'T be.
There are two big reasons for this. First, it may be more expensive,
even FAR more expensive, to do the port and then get the new target
hardware re-qualified for use. That'd make it financially impractical
to port. Second, there may be regulations or procedural requirements
that prevent it from being ported.
Remember the whole "procedure oriented" mindset...Follow this
procedure, blindly and without thought, and you will get the correct
outcome, and you won't lose your contract/get passed over for
promotion/get a bonus/get in trouble/risk failure/etc.
You're
missing the point my friend...it's not a "general DoD thing",
it's a SPECIFIC DoD thing. The same thing happens with AlphaStation
500s. They are nice machines, but nowhere near as nice as others...and
they fetch $300+, where nicer ones can be had for <$100.
Specific makes AND MODELS of machines are frequently specced for
projects and services. This is why crazy stuff like this happens.
Maybe that is what's driving me crazy. What is it and why can't it be
ported ? Seriously, I will volunteer to port the damn thing if
it will
lower my taxes $10 a year. Even if it doesn't I will do it anyway. I
really would rather no part of the of the national defense ran off any
VAX hardware and I love VAX stuff.
But why? Do you really think something like an eMachine would be
more reliable? I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm trying to force
you to examine your reasons for saying this. Reliability and uptime are
king in that world. You just don't get more reliable than a VAX, most
of the time.
That will change as the machines get older, but in the grand scheme
of things, in a world where "thing XYZ is twenty years old" means it's
still new, there's really no reason to replace them.
Upgrading for the sake of upgrading is bogus. It's always fun to
play with the shiny new stuff, but do you really want that to be the
driving factor in equipping a missile launch site or an aircraft carrier?
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
New Kensington, PA