From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.5-pre1 (2020-06-20) on ip-172-31-74-118.ec2.internal X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.8 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_50 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.5-pre1 Date: 11 Feb 93 16:10:22 GMT From: cis.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!howland. reston.ans.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!eff!world!srctran@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Gre gory Aharonian) Subject: Why does the DoD hate reuse entrepreneurs ? Message-ID: List-Id: Why does the DoD hate software reuse entrepreneurs? I mean if the DOD is going to start the businesses of reuse centers, surely anyone supportive of capitalism and free markets would want the support of an important driver of these free markets, entrepreneurs. That is, if the DoD is serious about its preaches to others about fighting the N-I-H syndrome. Case in point. An upcoming Ada conferences have a variety of panel sessions on reuse. The conference, the Eleventh Annual National Conference on Ada Technology, is being held next month. Here's a list of panels and their speakers: REUSE: Domain Specific Software Architectures - Three people from the DoD contractor GTE Federal Systems Domain Engineering - Establishing Large Scale Software Reuse - Two people from the DoD contractor Softech Practical Guide for Ada Reuse - Two people from the government funded MountainNet. DEFENSE SOFTWARE REPOSITORY SYSTEM PANEL - Moderator - a DoD official REUSE EDUCATION PANEL Dave Eichman, Charles McKay - academics from the University of Houston Bob Saisi - DSD Laboratories Linda Saus - EWA Frances Van Scoy - academic from West Virginia University ADASAGE (and I can't believe they are wasting a panel on this) Joan McGarity - COMNAVCOMTECCOM fragilisticxbladocious Howard Stewart - DoD/DoE contractor EGG Idaho David Cuneo - Naval Computer and Telecommunications Jerry Despasquale - US Marine Corps Am Hollom - Standards System Center John Taylor - US Army Software Deveopment Center SOFTWARE REUSE: THE NEXT STEPS (should be NEXT CHECKBOOK) James Hess - Department of the Army Philip Lancewicz - Harris Corporation Robert Lencewicz - Headquarters Electronics Systems Center Donalr Reifer - RCI Roger Williams - Software Productivity Consortium DEFENSE SOFTWARE REPOSITORY SYSTEM PANEL Joanne Piper - DISA/CIM Marrea Riggs - Army Patti Hicks - Defense Logistics Agency Kim Tarver - Air Force/Standard Systems Center Judith Wilson - Department of Energy ============================================================================== There is not a single person or company in the above list spending their own money on the business of software reuse - not a single entrepreneur. All these discussion will reduce to "We're doing great at what we should be doing, and let's spend more tax dollars on something we won't spend our own money on". What's worse is that about ten years ago, the DoD went through a period of trying to establish software repositories (I think it was an Air Force effort) before reuse was a fad. They all failed miserably, yet not once has anyone of the above interested parties ever cared to lookat their own history. These panels are pointless for two reasons. First the DoD officials are never going to say "Here's how to do something for less money than we have been budgeted by Congress and still get more results". Doing so is one of the few reasons you can actually get courtmartialed in the DoD Second, there is a neurological impairment for many defense contractors so that when they think "Gee - that is a dumb idea - don't fund it" it comes out "Gee - that's a great idea, though this is our way to fund it" (an impairment plaguing the STARS community for one). (As a side note to C.L., how about "COMPONENT COST"!!!!) Now some of you are saying, gee Greg, what don't you show up at some of these conferences and enlighten us with your wisdom (a flame I really miss being flamed with). Any socialist asking such a question just doesn't realize that under current DoD procurement regulations and contractor attitudes, it is impossible for any entrepreneur to operate a profitable defense software reuse business. Thus as a good capitalist, I know that any money I "invest" in attending these conferences will not lead to enough business to make my investment profitable. Instead, like many others avoiding the entire Ada industry, I make my investments in other areas such as C/C++. There is no better measure of the gross incompetence surrounding DoD software reuse efforts than the fact that there is no panel session at either Tri-Ada or the National Conference on Ada Technology titled: "WHY ARE THERE NO ENTREPRENEURS FOR DOD SOFTWARE REUSE" Once again comrades, good day. Greg Aharonian Source Translation & Optimization (P.S. In writing these diatribes, I tend to get carried away and use too many obscenities such as "competition", "free markets", "capitalism", "profits", "cost/benefit", "marketing", "investment", "efficiency", etc. I wish to apologize and promise it won't happen again. Right.) -- ************************************************************************** Greg Aharonian Source Translation & Optimiztion P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178