Lockheed Martin's Herculean Efforts to Profit From Defense Spending

[bemildred]

7. I used to do software engineering for DoD, so I saw the same problem a lot.

In software, it's called "re-inventing the wheel", and the trouble is that the new wheel is often, even usually, not superior for the intended purpose, and the users always hate learning new stuff even if it's better, let alone if it's worse. But, since there is no way to become a big-shot and make the big bucks without pissing on every post in the neighborhood, they keep doing it anyway.

Another bad side-effect of that new-stuff rules attitude is that systems become encrusted with marketing fetishes, things added because some market-droid was of the opinion it would help sell the system, a subject that always raises stress-levels to the 90% range. And then the users become annoyed becasue they have to fight through the marketing fetishes to get to the old functions that they want and know how to use. Like all that computer crap they put in cars now that few drivers bother to learn about.

And then there is the cost of continuous re-training, and keeping software "up to date", and all the other wastes of time.

Have you ever thought about how much time you waste dealing with your computers and things instead of "using" them for some non-computer-related purpose like email or surfing the web?