Wow - small world - my first real computer job was with the government too. I remember when we modified the fortran compiler so it would behave more like fortran 77 (strings). Code was mostly BAL and Fortran. It was a Data General MASS 40 and I was supporting Pacer Commet software that was used to test rebuilt GE F100 jet engines (not the F100 plane - I ain't that old:-).

Boot strapped the system (8 bit) by pushing panel buttons and sending bi-nomial instructions to the loader. No linkage editor No file names - data was mapped to ordinals.

Punch cards and everything. I started when the facility first acquired the Xerox Star System (first gui system I had seen - it made the cover of Scientific American - other than "Battle Zone" and "Tron":-)

I loved the sound of a Jet Engine in the test stand. My modules managed temprature and pressure related shutdowns while the engine was being tested.

The government is moving towards Linux. A lot of research facilities are too (like JPL etc).

If MS would just open it's application division for Linux - take advantage of the research and work done by WINEHQ - we would all benefit and so would MS.

But even smart people, even like those at microsoft can be penny rich, but dollar poor.


>MSFT is still playing catchup (although they definitely have a foot in the door). The government likes to spend 19,000.00 to 45,000.00 per vehicle computer:
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>http://www.sbs.com/pressroom/464
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>Remember the old Grid Computer (when it was grid computers before Tandy, etc)? I used one in numerous field operations in the mid 80s. they were actually very good at the time and also very durable. My first computer training as an actual programmer was on the TACCS system. The Army sent me to school. It used the CTOS/BTOS system. We had to go to school to learn 17 different programming languages (different programs were written in different languages). That was what probably stuck my feet on this path of programming actually.
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>https://atiam.train.army.mil/soldierPortal/atia/adlsc/view/public/4797-1/fm/24-24/2424c23.htm
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>>>As long as we're on the quote topic, should'nt it be official. I mean somewhere on MS's site.
>>>
>>>I'd like to see something like "Visual Studio .Net and Visual FoxPro and ... are products supported equally by Microsoft.
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>>>A proof of that is that Visual FoxPro 9 was released some months ago. There is a beta service pack 1 available for it and Visual Studio 2005 will be released shortly. and so on ..."
>>>
>>>That would be nice. Would'nt it?
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>>Correcto mundo - but understand - MS forgot the concept of "customer" a while back. We are now a market. And there is no way we can compete with the war-to-get-a-piece of that half trillion dollar US defense budget. It's a lot easier for MS to make unsolisited sales of CE's (to the taxpayer) for mounting in military machines (how many CE licenses are in one Hummer?) than it is to have to actually convince the consumer market to write them a check for something (gosh then they would actually have to compete, market and listen to objections). It's "a take it ot leave or leave it" marketing strategy. There is innovation going on in companies not feeding on the gravy train of defense procurement. We just need to get through this moment (looks bad) before we get to the future (looks better).