"Defence of the Realm"
Four posts at a UK blog that might fit well here (via tomahawk6):
"Dammit, I spilled my water bottle"
Hands off – it's our war!
Vanity in the driving seat
We really should not gloat
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 7:39 p.m.
2 Comments:
an update from a couple of posts ago about the Big Bad Bear . . . quite the piece of kit. Luv the slide rule.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/12/22/211294/video-feast-your-eyes-on-the-tupolev-tu-95-in-action.html
Note that the image of the A400M is an artist's impression. Unlike Lockheed-Martin and the operational C-130J, Airbus doesn't actually yet have a A-400M photograph because they don't actually yet have an aircraft.
This is part of the Airbus Co's equivalent to the software industry's derisive term, "vaporware".
"Vaporware" is a new, super-duper version of the software, does all sorts of wonderful new things and will be available at a date that is compellingly attractive to potential customers (and known by the software co. to be seemingly plausible but realistically impossible.)
This strongly discourages the potential customers of the previous versions from going to competitors for new software. (e.g. Oracle vs. IBM, or Microsoft vs. everybody else.)
Of course, as time slips by, the "vaporware" software co. incrementally postpones the release date. ("Minor problem, old chap. We don't actually have engines yet. But don't worry-just a few design bugs!...And, um, just a teeny, tiny price increase.") Potential purchasers see fiscal quarters and fiscal year-ends slip by, with no new release and the option of purchase from a competitor made more and more unfeasible.
Sounds familiar, eh? Maybe the A400M should be re-designated the A400V.
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