Two years ago, TrackingPoint made a major stir at CES with its Precision-Guided Firearm, or “Linux gun.” The weapon integrated a smart scope that displayed weather conditions, wind speeds, and other target information, and only fired the gun when the crosshairs were lined up properly on the target. Fast-forward to today, and the company has unveiled another milestone. Its new 'Mile Maker' is a custom weapon that’s capable of firing a round up to 1800 yards at a target moving at up to 30 miles per hour.
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/196993-next-gen-linux-powered-rifle-is-accurate-up-to-a-mile?
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Next-Generation Linux-Powered Rifle is Accurate up to a Mile
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(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @04:02AM
Ring up Richard Stallman, this would be the Fifth Freedom. The freedom to obtain and modify the source code so you can blow someone's head off at a mile away even if they're desperately trying to get away.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @04:24AM
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/can_terms_gpl_prevent_gnulinux_being_used_war [freesoftwaremagazine.com]
http://opensource.org/docs/osd [opensource.org]
6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @04:29AM
In other words, if my criteria for truth and virtue conflict with your criteria, my criteria trumps yours. Otherwise, general suckage.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @08:07AM
Stallman is way ahead of you buddy.
https://gnu.org/philosophy/programs-must-not-limit-freedom-to-run.html#content [gnu.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Monday January 12 2015, @06:08AM
When you read about it, all this thing does is fire the round when you get the gun on target, allowing for calculated range and speed of the target.
It doesn't actually point the weapon. Some one has to to do that, and hold it on target long enough.
Its not that impressive. They were doing this at 12 to 17 miles range with mechanical computers firing massive gun turrets in a ship pitching and rolling at sea before world war 2.
It does a lot of calculations to better guess when the right time to fire the gun is. That's about all.
Still it does not dope out the wind between you and your target, which over a mile away, can easily have three changes in direction and velocity spaced out across the mile.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by cykros on Monday January 12 2015, @02:52PM
Considering that DARPA has bullets that steer [gizmag.com] after they're fired, I'm inclined to agree with you. Still, accuracy of up to a mile being essentially democratized with civilian technology is definitely worth keeping aware of, because the point here is now that it's not only military trained snipers you have to worry about from half a mile away or more, but perhaps Bob who just snapped and walked out of work last week after you asked him to turn the music down in his cubicle. Or, of course, you can now recognize that perhaps you've found the perfect weapon to give your wife for Christmas for defending the ranch, as she was otherwise never a very good shot in the first place...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @05:12PM
I always fly into a murderous rage whenever people ask me to turn down the music in my cubicle.
Not that murder is an acceptable response for being a jerk, but there's a kernel of truth in an armed society being a polite one.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday January 12 2015, @08:48PM
Asshole. I'm trapped slaving away in the next cubicle over, why should I have to listen to the blaring of your shitty music? Get some damned headphones and stop polluting the shared space.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 13 2015, @05:37AM
I have to call bullshit on this one. Have you checked the level of public discourse in the US, not just around politics but around any divisive issue? People thank each other for polite arguments when it happens because it's so rare. And apart for failed states, the US is one of the most armed Western "democracies" around. Listen again to what armed Tea Partiers want to do to "libtards".
Guns may make some people more polite, but for many more it seems to be associated with paranoia and,
paradoxically, an unwarranted ego rush and feeling of invulnerability That's as true in middle America as in the urban slums.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday January 13 2015, @06:35PM
You don't know my wife then. A Good Southern Woman can Shoot.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by RedBear on Monday January 12 2015, @06:22PM
Anyone who doesn't find this tech impressive is really confused about how difficult it is for a typical person to accurately hit something a mile away with a perfectly normal, human-portable rifle. Least of all a moving target. This is not some big mechanically-stabilized machine firing 120mm rounds from a ship, these are just standard hunting rifles with a fancy scope and a mechanism that pulls the trigger at _exactly_ the right instant. It allows someone who has never touched a firearm before to be nearly as accurate as world-class trained snipers who have spent hundreds of hours honing their craft. It may not read the wind speeds for you but it makes it unnecessary to learn hard-won skills like how to squeeze the trigger just right without jerking it or tensing up your grip, how to find a firing position where you can keep your muscles from tensing up and starting to shake, or how to fire between heartbeats. It makes it unnecessary to take drugs to slow your heart rate in order to be accurate. The computer finds that one instant in time when it can take the shot and hit the target despite all your wiggly movements. Like that one photograph in a burst that turns out not blurry because the camera happened to be moving more slowly at that particular moment.
I've seen the videos of the first generation in action and it is ridiculously effective technology for what it is made to do. In fact it's so effective I've been surprised at the lack of outcry from various government types about the fact that it is freely available to civilians. Note that I am a strong supporter of gun ownership rights and would not condone in any way having any government try to ban the technology or restrict it to military use, I've just been surprised they haven't.
Make no mistake. This technology completely transforms what the average, untrained person is capable of doing with what is otherwise an average hunting rifle. It's not even .50 caliber, it's just a modified .338. So yeah, I find it quite impressive that I could sit down behind one and five minutes later successfully put a hole in something moving at 30mph a mile away. Impressive, and a bit scary. Oh, and look, the cost dropped from $17,000 to $8,000 in just a couple of years.
¯\_ʕ◔.◔ʔ_/¯ LOL. I dunno. I'm just a bear.
... Peace out. Got bear stuff to do. 彡ʕ⌐■.■ʔ
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 13 2015, @01:32PM
I've been surprised at the lack of outcry from various government types about the fact that it is freely available to civilians.
You are surprised about the government not being opposed to game hunters?
(Score: 1) by SacredSalt on Monday January 12 2015, @07:37AM
make me give up a Remington 700 and a good phone app (of which there are many) as far as target shooting. However, correctly applying the right amount of lead to a moving target is a bit of an art with a setup without it. On that front, I think they are making progress. With an investment of slightly more than the gun costs (bringing the total up to around $2600 for some really nice stuff) you can join the 1000 yards club with a Remington 700. You can do it for less, but its harder. Some guys spend more. Some guys spend a lot more! However, the reason most of these folks are spending it is because they enjoy the challenge of it. If something takes away the challenge of it, and anyone can do it - they wont spend it.
(Score: 2) by hoochiecoochieman on Monday January 12 2015, @01:20PM
Are those American miles and yards? Or African miles and yards?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @01:47PM
Country miles and whole nine yards. :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @02:54PM
Clear as mud!
(Score: 2) by hoochiecoochieman on Monday January 12 2015, @03:25PM
How much is that in football fields? What, American football fields or soccer fields? Oh fuck!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @03:14PM
Backfires in your face, then BSOD.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday January 12 2015, @04:35PM
I guess one can call this a "killer application" dead on. ;-)
(unless one got infected with system-d-fuse)