5 ms·

Not going to happen. The administration at West Point wanted to give every student a cell phone back in 2007 but that never happened. Do you know how hard it is

Not going to happen. The administration at West Point wanted to give every student a cell phone back in 2007 but that never happened. Do you know how hard it is for the military to accept new technology? We are still using Vista!

ComputerGuru 16y ago
Careful. Vista is new technology. Sure, it's not the latest and the greatest, but I'd honestly be shocked if an OS only 13 months old was adopted en masse by the US Military.
- twodayslate 16y ago
  True. I have been hearing rumors of a Windows 7 upgrade next year. The rumor was initially November but that didn't happen.
Samuel_Michon 16y ago
The U.S. Army has been using iPod touch and iPhone in the field for the last two years. "Software developers and the U.S. Department of Defense are developing military software for iPods that enables soldiers to display aerial video from drones and have teleconferences with intelligence agents halfway across the globe. Snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan now use a "ballistics calculator" called BulletFlight, made by the Florida firm Knight's Armament for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Army researchers are developing applications to turn an iPod into a remote control for a bomb-disposal robot (tilting the iPod steers the robot). In Sudan, American military observers are using iPods to learn the appropriate etiquette for interacting with tribal leaders. Translation is another important area. A new program, Vcommunicator, is now being issued to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan." http://www.businessinsider.com/us-armys-newest-weapon-the-ipod-touch-2009-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/us-armys-newest-weapon-the-ip... http://gizmodo.com/5119027/us-army-uses-ipod-touch-for-translation-on-the-field http://gizmodo.com/5119027/us-army-uses-ipod-touch-for-trans...
lucasjung 16y ago
I expect this to fizzle. Back in 2002 (and a little bit on either side), the Navy was issuing brand-new Palm Pilots (yes, they were still "Palm Pilots" back then) to every newly commissioned ensign. The original plan was that, as the PDAs became obsolete every few years, the officers would turn them in for upgrades. Nobody ever really used them and it became obvious that the whole program was a huge waste of money so they just stopped issuing them.
- twodayslate 16y ago
  True. They issued Palm-Pilots at West Point as well. They were hardly used and often lost.
- steverb 16y ago
  Wow. I totally used the hell out of my Palm Pilot when I was in the Army. It was great for keeping track of all the minutiae you have to know about every one of your soldiers (as a squad leader). Totally replaced my zip up nylon filo-fax, and I always knew when Private Snuffy's Birthday was coming up and when it was time to remind PFC JimBob to buy his wife something for their anniversary. Crap like that along with an insane op-tempo is why I left the Army though. Haven't had a use for a PalmPilot like device since then.
  - lucasjung 16y ago
    Interesting to hear from someone who actually made his Palm Pilot work well. I tried using one, but I've always found that a simple notepad and pocket calendar work better for me. YMMV, but based on what happened with the Navy's Palm Pilot program, most naval officers preferred the good old fashioned wheelbook or government-issue green logbook.

ComputerGuru 16y ago

Careful. Vista is new technology. Sure, it's not the latest and the greatest, but I'd honestly be shocked if an OS only 13 months old was adopted en masse by the US Military.

twodayslate 16y ago
True. I have been hearing rumors of a Windows 7 upgrade next year. The rumor was initially November but that didn't happen.

Samuel_Michon 16y ago

The U.S. Army has been using iPod touch and iPhone in the field for the last two years. "Software developers and the U.S. Department of Defense are developing military software for iPods that enables soldiers to display aerial video from drones and have teleconferences with intelligence agents halfway across the globe. Snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan now use a "ballistics calculator" called BulletFlight, made by the Florida firm Knight's Armament for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Army researchers are developing applications to turn an iPod into a remote control for a bomb-disposal robot (tilting the iPod steers the robot). In Sudan, American military observers are using iPods to learn the appropriate etiquette for interacting with tribal leaders. Translation is another important area. A new program, Vcommunicator, is now being issued to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan." http://www.businessinsider.com/us-armys-newest-weapon-the-ipod-touch-2009-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/us-armys-newest-weapon-the-ip... http://gizmodo.com/5119027/us-army-uses-ipod-touch-for-translation-on-the-field http://gizmodo.com/5119027/us-army-uses-ipod-touch-for-trans...

lucasjung 16y ago

I expect this to fizzle. Back in 2002 (and a little bit on either side), the Navy was issuing brand-new Palm Pilots (yes, they were still "Palm Pilots" back then) to every newly commissioned ensign. The original plan was that, as the PDAs became obsolete every few years, the officers would turn them in for upgrades. Nobody ever really used them and it became obvious that the whole program was a huge waste of money so they just stopped issuing them.

twodayslate 16y ago
True. They issued Palm-Pilots at West Point as well. They were hardly used and often lost.
steverb 16y ago
Wow. I totally used the hell out of my Palm Pilot when I was in the Army. It was great for keeping track of all the minutiae you have to know about every one of your soldiers (as a squad leader). Totally replaced my zip up nylon filo-fax, and I always knew when Private Snuffy's Birthday was coming up and when it was time to remind PFC JimBob to buy his wife something for their anniversary. Crap like that along with an insane op-tempo is why I left the Army though. Haven't had a use for a PalmPilot like device since then.
- lucasjung 16y ago
  Interesting to hear from someone who actually made his Palm Pilot work well. I tried using one, but I've always found that a simple notepad and pocket calendar work better for me. YMMV, but based on what happened with the Navy's Palm Pilot program, most naval officers preferred the good old fashioned wheelbook or government-issue green logbook.