IBM to Provide Data Management for Boeing's Future Combat Systems Program

http://www.militaryglobal.com/reports/229 ^

[dr_who_2]

We are taking the best that we have and giving it away.

Who is we? Are you saying that there's something "special" about the PC division of IBM in that it was less greedy and less dishonest?

[driftdiver]

"Who is we? Are you saying that there's something "special" about the PC division of IBM in that it was less greedy and less dishonest?"

I'm saying America has opened the door and the best we have in many areas is headed out.

Nothing specific about IBM PC division. People are greedy by nature and unless they have a good moral and ethical base bad things happen. Not distrustful of big business. IMO American businesses are a great deal less dishonest and abusive than those of many other cultures. In many parts of the world it is absolutely required to bribe local officials in order to do business. Just another cost of doing business.

[dr_who_2]

Mmmm. But we're talking about an American business operating in America here. What do you have against IBM?

[RightWingConspirator]

The PC Division had a great product, but the Division was a money loser, unwilling to operate the way Dell and HP (JIT manufacturing) do. So you sell off a money loser to someone else who thinks he can make it profitable.

[antiRepublicrat]

If you move R&D offshore to two potentially hostile countries and want to use the results for our military you've got a security problem.

Intel's latest generation of chips was designed in Israel. AMD makes most of its chips in Germany.

The military will probably require them to do it onshore but IBM is so "globalized" that leaks and spying are inevitable.

Any software written for the military will be under strict control, requiring security clearances. If the software itself is considered classified, then the control gets, well, quite anal retentive, with separate networks, controlled access to those with clearances and need to know, no personal computing devices allowed (including USB sticks, iPods and cell phones), hard drives get put in the safe when you're not there, and you even need to get an official courier to take a CD next door. Violate any of these, even by accident, and you risk getting fired (and some are automatic-firing offenses).

There's always the risk of a spy, no matter where, but the military won't casually let a foreigner work on one of its projects. In fact, the job ads from IBM will say "Must be an American citizen and capable of receiving a DoD security clearance."