Microsoft, USO Links Troops Worldwide Via Xbox

Thanks to Reuters for their story reporting on Microsoft and the U.S. armed forces' plans to expand a program bringing Xbox Live to troops overseas. There's a press release on the USO site with more details, including a U.S. Air Force lieutenant's comments: "Xbox Live allows me to play my favorite games with friends and family as though I am sitting on the couch right next to them back home in Garden Grove, Calif. We share stories, laugh and poke fun at each other in real time as we play." We previously covered a pilot scheme using the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and a spokesman "...said the program was such a success it will be expanded to nearly every Air Force base around the world."

Awesome...

[malakai]

I think that's great for troops.

I wonder though, if MS has to offer access to the voice chats to security personel for the appropriate armed forces.

I know mail and e-mail is screened, as well as phone calls (espcially on big targets like aircraft carriers). I wonder if MS had to put in code on the server to allow the voice streams to be tapped.

Cool none the less. I wouldn't mind playing Ghost Recon against some troop clans.

Commercial

[musikit]

umm wasn't there a commercial for like splinter cell or something game like that one taht promoted this?

Re:I wont be content

[malakai]

I think a single decade is all that is required to begin rolling out semiautomonous and full automonus aircraft, and ceasing development on new manned air-craft.
After that point, we'll see the planes we know and love today be retired (and their pilots).

What's really lacking is a full redundant, mesh based communication infrastructue that can be quickly deployed. Where every node in the mesh, be it an aircraft or a satellite, or a autonomous drone, can relay and respond.

A top-down approach would put these nodes closer and closer to the action, until they meet ground based nodes (humvees, portable station deployed on sand dunes...etc).

I say 20 years though for fuly functional bi-ped soldiers that can be controlled remotely and have enough autonomy to respond/react quickly to environment and beat speed of light latency in their control systems. Such that a controller at 'home' can move the unit (WASD config of course) but the unit can make choices on how to move (i see a rock, i'm going to step over it, i'm not going to wait 250ms for my controller to hold my hand and walk me over the rock).

Re:I wont be content

[t0ny]

I think that will be the time to start worrying. Once it becomes trivially easy to kill people, and you can do it without even seeing it 'in real life', it will take any remaining shreads of humanity out of war.