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**Habalinnyf** · 06-10-2010, 12:18 PM

Like everything else - they will be expensive for the early adopters, and then economies of scale will allow them to become ubiquitous

touch screens
LCD screens
GPS
etc.

Not universally true of all technologies and the military doesn't have to worry about economy of scale they are concerned about mission effectiveness. The military is free to pursue expensive short term technologies that will not outlive competing technologies because they need to act to meet relatively short term objectives, future viability doesn't always limit development of mission critical gear. They can dump funds into a very expensive programs and get them to work but when a competing technology arises that fills the role all development beyond sort comings exposed are lost in the earlier now obsolete technology.

Curiously enough at the same time the military is also amazingly slow at innovating cutting edge technologies because it must make sure it can supply,maintain and operate technologies in a mission environment.

LCDs by example have several decades of development before any military body deployed the technology.

There is a lot of expense and heartbreak in technology development and marketing. Beta was actually superior technologically to VHS but was not marketed as efficiently and was limited by non technological marketing/production decisions. I know of an alcohol based plastic that will rot away in an environmentally neutral fashion at a controlled rate which would work great for packaging that for some reason commercial industry just isn't interested in. (well I know the reasons, I just can't say what they are because of NDA)

All investment in near term deployed technologies will not result in cheaper mass produced technologies being available in the future. Most of it will wither and die on the vine for a wide range of reasons.

06-10-2010, 12:18 PM	#20
Habalinnyf Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 386 Senior Member	Like everything else - they will be expensive for the early adopters, and then economies of scale will allow them to become ubiquitous touch screens LCD screens GPS etc. Not universally true of all technologies and the military doesn't have to worry about economy of scale they are concerned about mission effectiveness. The military is free to pursue expensive short term technologies that will not outlive competing technologies because they need to act to meet relatively short term objectives, future viability doesn't always limit development of mission critical gear. They can dump funds into a very expensive programs and get them to work but when a competing technology arises that fills the role all development beyond sort comings exposed are lost in the earlier now obsolete technology. Curiously enough at the same time the military is also amazingly slow at innovating cutting edge technologies because it must make sure it can supply,maintain and operate technologies in a mission environment. LCDs by example have several decades of development before any military body deployed the technology. There is a lot of expense and heartbreak in technology development and marketing. Beta was actually superior technologically to VHS but was not marketed as efficiently and was limited by non technological marketing/production decisions. I know of an alcohol based plastic that will rot away in an environmentally neutral fashion at a controlled rate which would work great for packaging that for some reason commercial industry just isn't interested in. (well I know the reasons, I just can't say what they are because of NDA) All investment in near term deployed technologies will not result in cheaper mass produced technologies being available in the future. Most of it will wither and die on the vine for a wide range of reasons.
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