NS Military Realism Consultancy Thread Mk X Purps Safe Space

[Chinese Peoples]

Just fuckin

go outside and see it for yourself

But that building may be occupied by an enemy, or there might be insufficient lighting...

[Taihei Tengoku]

Just fuckin

go outside and see it for yourself

But that building may be occupied by an enemy, or there might be insufficient lighting...

Places soldiers go tend to be occupied by enemies

[Lamoni]

The first one is a dismounted soldier using a tablet to connect to their national Battle Management System. The second one is a similar device in a Leclerc Tank. Neither one is a laptop, neither one has a keyboard, and neither one has any especially fancy features. That is what you will find in the field. Carrying a laptop into combat is ridiculous.

But that building may be occupied by an enemy, or there might be insufficient lighting...

Risk is part and parcel of combat. If you're going to be stopped that easily, you might as well not fight.

[Chinese Peoples]

But that building may be occupied by an enemy, or there might be insufficient lighting...

Places soldiers go tend to be occupied by enemies

Well, let's prepare them against their enemies.

Risk is part and parcel of combat. If you're going to be stopped that easily, you might as well not fight.

Well, let's reduce that risk by provisioning as much information as conveniently as possible.

[Lamoni]

Well, let's reduce that risk by provisioning as much information as conveniently as possible.

Hint: You can provide a soldier with all the information that they will need, via tablet. And that if you absolutely *MUST* emit. Soldiers have training. Trust them to do their jobs without constant badgering, lest they stop listening to higher command.

[The Akasha Colony]

Nobody will be playing Crysis with the Quadro M620 (I didn't pick the GTX 1080). The battery that I've specified would actually out-perform that of the Panasonic laptop.

They can, actually. I ran Crysis on a 256 MB laptop GPU back in the day. The battery you specified is barely larger than the Panasonic's, but the Panasonic isn't powering a GPU and 1080p screen.

Well, obviously people will be keeping an eye over that consideration when they're connecting.

Are your soldiers Neo? Can they see cyber threats with their eyes?

If they're regular humans then they can't see malicious code with their naked eyes, and therefore they'll be told to treat any device they find or that isn't military-issued as potentially compromised. And therefore leave it alone unless they are ordered to recover it, in which case it'll be sent back to analysts who can securely remove whatever data they're after.

I personally think, given the amount of effort that this nation's armed forces has expended to invest in technology, providing 3D modelling of terrain/buildings in certain localities, prepared in advance by some form of automatically surveying technology (akin to Google Maps street view or Google Earth), will not be out of the question.

You don't need a GPU to render Google Maps.

I see; they will be adopted.

Those rolling desks are actually getting replaced by something even simpler, which happens to be the same thing we've just been discussing:

These aren't soldier-issued laptops though, they're meant to stay in the truck and be used by anyone assigned to a specific role in HQ. Which is why they're also connected to the secure data network that personal devices would be kept well away from.

But that building may be occupied by an enemy, or there might be insufficient lighting...

They need to do that reconnaissance anyway otherwise all they're looking at is a "virtualized 3D space" of an empty room. It's not hugely helpful to say "here's what Google says this room looked like 3 years ago when the last Google Spaces guy walked through it. But otherwise we have no idea where the enemy is, or whether there have been any changes to the room. Maybe the owners decided to renovate it or something. Who knows?"

[Chinese Peoples]

Nobody will be playing Crysis with the Quadro M620 (I didn't pick the GTX 1080). The battery that I've specified would actually out-perform that of the Panasonic laptop.

They can, actually. I ran Crysis on a 256 MB laptop GPU back in the day. The battery you specified is barely larger than the Panasonic's, but the Panasonic isn't powering a GPU and 1080p screen.

It has hot-swappable batteries.

The processor is not quite powerful enough to run the latest versions of Crysis, and who would want to bring outdated games into the field anyway? Why play a FPS when you're currently in a FPS?

Well, obviously people will be keeping an eye over that consideration when they're connecting.

Are your soldiers Neo? Can they see cyber threats with their eyes?

If they're regular humans then they can't see malicious code with their naked eyes, and therefore they'll be told to treat any device they find or that isn't military-issued as potentially compromised. And therefore leave it alone unless they are ordered to recover it, in which case it'll be sent back to analysts who can securely remove whatever data they're after.

Which will still be connected to their devices by their original interfaces, such as parallel ports.

I personally think, given the amount of effort that this nation's armed forces has expended to invest in technology, providing 3D modelling of terrain/buildings in certain localities, prepared in advance by some form of automatically surveying technology (akin to Google Maps street view or Google Earth), will not be out of the question.

You don't need a GPU to render Google Maps.

But you will probably need one to show 3D models properly.

They need to do that reconnaissance anyway otherwise all they're looking at is a "virtualized 3D space" of an empty room. It's not hugely helpful to say "here's what Google says this room looked like 3 years ago when the last Google Spaces guy walked through it. But otherwise we have no idea where the enemy is, or whether there have been any changes to the room. Maybe the owners decided to renovate it or something. Who knows?"

Am I to understand that providing a 3D model of a certain and perhaps complex space is of no value to people who may be fighting through it? There's also the possibility that it has not been renovated, in which case the model would still be accurate.

[Chinese Peoples]

Well, let's reduce that risk by provisioning as much information as conveniently as possible.

Hint: You can provide a soldier with all the information that they will need, via tablet. And that if you absolutely *MUST* emit. Soldiers have training. Trust them to do their jobs without constant badgering, lest they stop listening to higher command.

I should mention that my nation does conscript.

Suppose if this laptop is for personal use; would that be more sensible?

[Lamoni]

Am I to understand that providing a 3D model of a certain and perhaps complex space is of no value to people who may be fighting through it? There's also the possibility that it has not been renovated, in which case the model would still be accurate.

Where are you going to get a 3D model of every building that your forces fight in, whether at home, or abroad? Where are you going to get information on where enemy forces might be in said structure? How are you going to account for building damage or renovations that might have taken place since the last (if any) 3D scans have taken place in said building? You need to take these things under consideration before throwing them out there.

And no, making these laptops for personal use makes even less sense.

[Chinese Peoples]

Am I to understand that providing a 3D model of a certain and perhaps complex space is of no value to people who may be fighting through it? There's also the possibility that it has not been renovated, in which case the model would still be accurate.

Where are you going to get a 3D model of every building that your forces fight in, whether at home, or abroad? Where are you going to get information on where enemy forces might be in said structure? How are you going to account for building damage or renovations that might have taken place since the last (if any) 3D scans have taken place in said building? You need to take these things under consideration before throwing them out there.

For example, if they are fighting in domestic territory. It's like an upgraded version of a map. This information can be collected from the floor plans registered by civil agencies when buildings were built and land surveyed. Renovations aren't generally going to alter the structural components of a building. Like if you click on this bit, it says, "Office building, open floor plan", so you can expect cubicles inside.

And no, making these laptops for personal use makes even less sense.

[Lamoni]

For example, if they are fighting in domestic territory. It's like an upgraded version of a map. This information can be collected from the floor plans registered by civil agencies when buildings were built and land surveyed. Renovations aren't generally going to alter the structural components of a building. Like if you click on this bit, it says, "Office building, open floor plan", so you can expect cubicles inside.

Nice job failing to answer any of my questions.

[Allanea]

These aren't soldier-issued laptops though, they're meant to stay in the truck and be used by anyone assigned to a specific role in HQ. Which is why they're also connected to the secure data network that personal devices would be kept well away from.

Soldiers and offficers do get issued laptops. It certainly occurs in the IDF. They sign for these laptops, and - in the cases of secure information being used on them - also separately sign for a secure identification card for use in the laptops (which is regularly replaced, for safety reasons).

The battalion headquarters does use laptops and not 'work stations' whenever the battalion is in the field. These things are all facts. I have been involved with these laptops directly as part of my duties, have issued them to people and had the people sign for them.

Am I to understand that providing a 3D model of a certain and perhaps complex space is of no value to people who may be fighting through it? There's also the possibility that it has not been renovated, in which case the model would still be accurate.

I'm not sure why it needs to be 3D, but it is indeed super-useful.

[Chinese Peoples]

For example, if they are fighting in domestic territory. It's like an upgraded version of a map. This information can be collected from the floor plans registered by civil agencies when buildings were built and land surveyed. Renovations aren't generally going to alter the structural components of a building. Like if you click on this bit, it says, "Office building, open floor plan", so you can expect cubicles inside.

Nice job failing to answer any of my questions.

Well you're not going to know where the enemy are anyway. But then it strikes me as odd that knowing the interior of a building wouldn't help whatever operation that is to occur in that building. What happens if the building is large and available manpower is limited, so a blanket search is not practicable?

The models can be constructed digitally, I think, by software; it isn't such a large mental leap when the plans for each floor are already available to the minutest detail in construction regulatory agencies. And, yes, you are required to submit floor plans to the agency when you're applying for a construction/alteration permit.

[Herador]

These aren't soldier-issued laptops though, they're meant to stay in the truck and be used by anyone assigned to a specific role in HQ. Which is why they're also connected to the secure data network that personal devices would be kept well away from.

Soldiers and offficers do get issued laptops. It certainly occurs in the IDF. They sign for these laptops, and - in the cases of secure information being used on them - also separately sign for a secure identification card for use in the laptops (which is regularly replaced, for safety reasons).

The battalion headquarters does use laptops and not 'work stations' whenever the battalion is in the field. These things are all facts. I have been involved with these laptops directly as part of my duties, have issued them to people and had the people sign for them.

Am I to understand that providing a 3D model of a certain and perhaps complex space is of no value to people who may be fighting through it? There's also the possibility that it has not been renovated, in which case the model would still be accurate.

I'm not sure why it needs to be 3D, but it is indeed super-useful.

Wait, you were IDF? I thought you were US Military for some reason.

[The Corparation]

Chinese Peoples you're significantly overestimating both the level of detail of any models that might be rendered and also the hardware needed to render such models. I have a 5 year old Thinkpad x220T next to me on my desk. Hardware wise the guts are probably comparable what you might see in a military issued laptop. Its exactly the kind of laptop a military might pick if they want a COTS product. It lacks a GPU, 1080p screen, and has half the ram cpu specified. A Slower CPU as well. It can render 3d models just fine. Well at least the sort of low details crappy 3d models that any military software you're thinking of would use.

[Allanea]

Nice job failing to answer any of my questions.

Well you're not going to know where the enemy are anyway. But then it strikes me as odd that knowing the interior of a building wouldn't help whatever operation that is to occur in that building. What happens if the building is large and available manpower is limited, so a blanket search is not practicable?

The models can be constructed digitally, I think, by software; it isn't such a large mental leap when the plans for each floor are already available to the minutest detail in construction regulatory agencies. And, yes, you are required to submit floor plans to the agency when you're applying for a construction/alteration permit.

Alright, that's reasonable, and actually practiced by any sane military.

But why does it need to be 3D and why does it need to be on a laptop?

[The Akasha Colony]

It has hot-swappable batteries.

The processor is not quite powerful enough to run the latest versions of Crysis, and who would want to bring outdated games into the field anyway? Why play a FPS when you're currently in a FPS?

Crysis can run on a 2007-era Core 2 Duo. It can definitely run on a Haswell.

Which will still be connected to their devices by their original interfaces, such as parallel ports.

Data analysts will have their own special equipment so it's hardly relevant whether front line soldiers have serial or parallel ports with them because they won't be doing anything but packing up the devices and shipping them to the rear. Do you think SEAL Team 6 sat down with their laptops in bin Laden's compound to sort through the data on the spot?

But you will probably need one to show 3D models properly.

You don't. You really, really don't. Unless you're playing fairly intensive 3D games, modern integrated GPUs are far more than you need. If my nearly two-year-old smartphone can render 3D videos of weeb idols dancing you can easily render any 3D maps you can expect to find. Anything more intensive than this is simply irrelevant to soldiers on the ground. A 3D map so detailed as to require a GPU is an actual waste of data, bandwidth, and battery life.

Am I to understand that providing a 3D model of a certain and perhaps complex space is of no value to people who may be fighting through it? There's also the possibility that it has not been renovated, in which case the model would still be accurate.

It is of limited value and this value does not justify the mass-issuing of laptops. Even if it were of critical value, you would only need a single device per squad or something because only the commanders need to know how to come up with a plan, everyone else just needs to know how to follow orders. And viewing a 3D schematic doesn't require a laptop, it can easily be done on a tablet or even a reasonably sized phone.

The problem is that a 3D map is only marginally more useful than a 2D floor plan which will already highlight all of the relevant features in the room.

For example, if they are fighting in domestic territory. It's like an upgraded version of a map. This information can be collected from the floor plans registered by civil agencies when buildings were built and land surveyed. Renovations aren't generally going to alter the structural components of a building. Like if you click on this bit, it says, "Office building, open floor plan", so you can expect cubicles inside.

Cubicles are actually an extremely easy way to render this system useless. They aren't structural and will be moved frequently according to the needs of the office yet provide people hiding in the building plenty of cover. So all an attacking force will know is "there are cubicles, and we have no idea how they're arranged because they've probably been shifted" They don't need a 3D map for that.

Suppose if this laptop is for personal use; would that be more sensible?

Why bother? Let them buy their own if they want one. Most will probably not, because these days mobile devices have overtaken laptops in terms of recreational use. Most people spend far more time using their tablets and phones than using a full PC of any sort.

Well you're not going to know where the enemy are anyway. But then it strikes me as odd that knowing the interior of a building wouldn't help whatever operation that is to occur in that building. What happens if the building is large and available manpower is limited, so a blanket search is not practicable?

If you don't know where the enemy is you'll have to do a blanket search anyway. If manpower is so limited, you don't have time to sit around perusing 3D models, either. You'd be better served using that time to actually search the building.

The models can be constructed digitally, I think, by software; it isn't such a large mental leap when the plans for each floor are already available to the minutest detail in construction regulatory agencies. And, yes, you are required to submit floor plans to the agency when you're applying for a construction/alteration permit.

So you need to stop and sort through the entire database of buildings to try to pull up the right one and hope no one in the bureaucracy fucked up and lost the plans or that nothing happened to the data, and that you have a reliable enough data connection, and enough time to browse through an entire building's floor plans. It's great if you plan on assaulting a building next week. Not as great if you have to assault that building right now.

Pulling up regular floor plans is plenty. There's no need for it to be in 3D, and even if there were, no need for a laptop, and even if there were a need for a laptop, no need for it to have discrete graphics.

[NeuPolska]

I don't think I saw a single keyboard warrior joke in this entire exchange

Am disappoint

[Allanea]

It's worth saying here that many businesses in Israel are required to have their own copy of the floor plans in case there's an event and then they can just hand a copy to the arriving ISAM team or whatever.

[Chinese Peoples]

Chinese Peoples you're significantly overestimating both the level of detail of any models that might be rendered and also the hardware needed to render such models. I have a 5 year old Thinkpad x220T next to me on my desk. Hardware wise the guts are probably comparable what you might see in a military issued laptop. Its exactly the kind of laptop a military might pick if they want a COTS product. It lacks a GPU, 1080p screen, and has half the ram cpu specified. A Slower CPU as well. It can render 3d models just fine. Well at least the sort of low details crappy 3d models that any military software you're thinking of would use.

I understand that; yet in 5 year's time, they will be 5 years old. These laptops are to be issued this year, and who knows what the future will yield? I suppose future-proofing also goes in the military.

I've selected the Xeon processor specifically due to its architecture and support for more advanced security features, I gather; the GPU consumes only a (very) modest amount of power but is positioned to assist the relatively low-end CPU in graphical display, which is what I am currently propounding. The 1080p screen might be replaced with a 1366 by 768 TN if people insist, but it would be easier to see larger models at one glance with a higher resolution in the screen.

[The Corparation]

Chinese Peoples you're significantly overestimating both the level of detail of any models that might be rendered and also the hardware needed to render such models. I have a 5 year old Thinkpad x220T next to me on my desk. Hardware wise the guts are probably comparable what you might see in a military issued laptop. Its exactly the kind of laptop a military might pick if they want a COTS product. It lacks a GPU, 1080p screen, and has half the ram cpu specified. A Slower CPU as well. It can render 3d models just fine. Well at least the sort of low details crappy 3d models that any military software you're thinking of would use.

I understand that; yet in 5 year's time, they will be 5 years old. These laptops are to be issued this year, and who knows what the future will yield? I suppose future-proofing also goes in the military.

I've selected the Xeon processor specifically due to its architecture and support for more advanced security features, I gather; the GPU consumes only a (very) modest amount of power but is positioned to assist the relatively low-end CPU in graphical display, which is what I am currently propounding. The 1080p screen might be replaced with a 1366 by 768 TN if people insist, but it would be easier to see larger models at one glance with a higher resolution in the screen.

There is no reason why future software for the same purpose would be that much more resource intensive than current software. There just isn't a need for an infantryman to have software that lets him render the building he's in at 1080p and 60 fps. A bare bones model is all he needs and is probably the most you'd even be able to get of the building. There is zero need for a GPU. As Akasha pointed out this is within the capabilities of most smartphone let alone a cheap laptop.

[Chinese Peoples]

It has hot-swappable batteries.

The processor is not quite powerful enough to run the latest versions of Crysis, and who would want to bring outdated games into the field anyway? Why play a FPS when you're currently in a FPS?

Crysis can run on a 2007-era Core 2 Duo. It can definitely run on a Haswell.

The latest versions of Crysis.

Which will still be connected to their devices by their original interfaces, such as parallel ports.

Data analysts will have their own special equipment so it's hardly relevant whether front line soldiers have serial or parallel ports with them because they won't be doing anything but packing up the devices and shipping them to the rear. Do you think SEAL Team 6 sat down with their laptops in bin Laden's compound to sort through the data on the spot?

There surely must be situations where such a capability is useful. What if they are deployed to a foreign place, where printers only connect via parallel port?

But you will probably need one to show 3D models properly.

You don't. You really, really don't. Unless you're playing fairly intensive 3D games, modern integrated GPUs are far more than you need. If my nearly two-year-old smartphone can render 3D videos of weeb idols dancing you can easily render any 3D maps you can expect to find. Anything more intensive than this is simply irrelevant to soldiers on the ground. A 3D map so detailed as to require a GPU is an actual waste of data, bandwidth, and battery life.

I don't have experience with an integrated GPU within the past few years, but of the discrete cards that I have used, all of them did have at least a marginal and positive impact on the computer's graphical performance with compared to a system without one. Models take time to load, and having an appropriate accelerator can reduce the amount of time thus spent.

Am I to understand that providing a 3D model of a certain and perhaps complex space is of no value to people who may be fighting through it? There's also the possibility that it has not been renovated, in which case the model would still be accurate.

It is of limited value and this value does not justify the mass-issuing of laptops. Even if it were of critical value, you would only need a single device per squad or something because only the commanders need to know how to come up with a plan, everyone else just needs to know how to follow orders. And viewing a 3D schematic doesn't require a laptop, it can easily be done on a tablet or even a reasonably sized phone.

And if that commander loses his laptop (or dies or breaks it out of frustratoin) and needs to borrow another from someone else?

The problem is that a 3D map is only marginally more useful than a 2D floor plan which will already highlight all of the relevant features in the room.

For example, if they are fighting in domestic territory. It's like an upgraded version of a map. This information can be collected from the floor plans registered by civil agencies when buildings were built and land surveyed. Renovations aren't generally going to alter the structural components of a building. Like if you click on this bit, it says, "Office building, open floor plan", so you can expect cubicles inside.

Cubicles are actually an extremely easy way to render this system useless. They aren't structural and will be moved frequently according to the needs of the office yet provide people hiding in the building plenty of cover. So all an attacking force will know is "there are cubicles, and we have no idea how they're arranged because they've probably been shifted" They don't need a 3D map for that.

Well, that perhaps implies there are also buildings without cubicles.

Suppose if this laptop is for personal use; would that be more sensible?

Why bother? Let them buy their own if they want one. Most will probably not, because these days mobile devices have overtaken laptops in terms of recreational use. Most people spend far more time using their tablets and phones than using a full PC of any sort.

There is a standard-issue phone, mind you.

Well you're not going to know where the enemy are anyway. But then it strikes me as odd that knowing the interior of a building wouldn't help whatever operation that is to occur in that building. What happens if the building is large and available manpower is limited, so a blanket search is not practicable?

If you don't know where the enemy is you'll have to do a blanket search anyway. If manpower is so limited, you don't have time to sit around perusing 3D models, either. You'd be better served using that time to actually search the building.

Why search the building when you can just use your map and get to the target immediately?

The models can be constructed digitally, I think, by software; it isn't such a large mental leap when the plans for each floor are already available to the minutest detail in construction regulatory agencies. And, yes, you are required to submit floor plans to the agency when you're applying for a construction/alteration permit.

So you need to stop and sort through the entire database of buildings to try to pull up the right one and hope no one in the bureaucracy fucked up and lost the plans or that nothing happened to the data, and that you have a reliable enough data connection, and enough time to browse through an entire building's floor plans. It's great if you plan on assaulting a building next week. Not as great if you have to assault that building right now.

And why is it that commanders never make mistakes while bureaucrats do? There are 3G networks available in almost every metropolitan area as of this year, and I fail to see how the military can't take advantage of this resource when designing their hardware. It would be great just to pull up a file from a central server of the building in front of you and find out that the only entrance is through the garage, which can be accessed through a wind vent, and the doors on the ground floor are fake.

Plus, I just came back from hiatus. I want to issue stuff.

[Chinese Peoples]

I understand that; yet in 5 year's time, they will be 5 years old. These laptops are to be issued this year, and who knows what the future will yield? I suppose future-proofing also goes in the military.

I've selected the Xeon processor specifically due to its architecture and support for more advanced security features, I gather; the GPU consumes only a (very) modest amount of power but is positioned to assist the relatively low-end CPU in graphical display, which is what I am currently propounding. The 1080p screen might be replaced with a 1366 by 768 TN if people insist, but it would be easier to see larger models at one glance with a higher resolution in the screen.

There is no reason why future software for the same purpose would be that much more resource intensive than current software. There just isn't a need for an infantryman to have software that lets him render the building he's in at 1080p and 60 fps. A bare bones model is all he needs and is probably the most you'd even be able to get of the building. There is zero need for a GPU. As Akasha pointed out this is within the capabilities of most smartphone let alone a cheap laptop.

I see...

[The Akasha Colony]

I understand that; yet in 5 year's time, they will be 5 years old. These laptops are to be issued this year, and who knows what the future will yield? I suppose future-proofing also goes in the military.

Five years in the future, if they're still making more models, they'll just make sure to keep the polygon counts under control. They'll do it anyway because rendering even a single building in such detail as to require a discrete GPU is very expensive and time consuming. Why would they do something dumb and design models that are beyond the level of your hardware to render? They know exactly what sort of hardware has to run their models so they have no reason to throw in things it can't handle.

I've selected the Xeon processor specifically due to its architecture and support for more advanced security features, I gather; the GPU consumes only a (very) modest amount of power but is positioned to assist the relatively low-end CPU in graphical display, which is what I am currently propounding. The 1080p screen might be replaced with a 1366 by 768 TN if people insist, but it would be easier to see larger models at one glance with a higher resolution in the screen.

The GPU consumes a significant amount of power when in use. More than the CPU. And it still draws power at idle, albeit obviously far less. My Core i7 has a TDP of 88W, my R9 290 has a TDP of 275W.

It's not actually any easier to see models at a glance on a higher resolution screen, because seeing the model is simply a matter of changing the zoom factor. A 768p screen is plenty, the minor difference in detail is irrelevant and if a soldier really needs to see something he can just zoom in on a specific detail.

The whole thought process here seems to be a bit disjointed. On the one hand, you keep talking about models so detailed they require discrete GPUs, but on the other hand talk about troops looking at them "at a glance." Presumably if they expect to do any serious planning, they'll have to do more than look at them "at a glance." On the one hand, you expect every building in your country to have a model, but on the other hand these models are supposed to be extraordinarily detailed to require GPUs.

There surely must be situations where such a capability is useful. What if they are deployed to a foreign place, where printers only connect via parallel port?

What, did you let the enemy bomb all of your own printers or something? Soldiers don't regularly find a need to suddenly print things in the field.

The situations in which such a feature would be useful are so rare as to be irrelevant. It would be like issuing all of your troops saddles and bridles on the off chance they end up needing to ride a horse. Which is actually more likely than being stuck in a magical country where only parallel ports exist. Even Africa and Afghanistan have USB printers.

I don't have experience with an integrated GPU within the past few years, but of the discrete cards that I have used, all of them did have at least a marginal and positive impact on the computer's graphical performance with compared to a system without one. Models take time to load, and having an appropriate accelerator can reduce the amount of time thus spent.

The difference in rendering time is trivial for every task you will expect of this machine. My phone takes less than five seconds to start playing a 3D MV like the one I posted. And if you actually run the GPU your battery life goes down the tube.

And if that commander loses his laptop (or dies or breaks it out of frustratoin) and needs to borrow another from someone else?

Do you issue extra rifles in case a soldier loses his and needs to "borrow another?"

If something happens to it, you just move on and deal with it. If your troops are somehow incapable of proceeding without the comfort of their 3D maps then you have a huge problem.

And if you're afraid of troops breaking or losing their equipment, you have even more reason to issue them the cheapest stuff you can find. So even more reason to do away with 1080p screens and discrete GPUs.

Well, that perhaps implies there are also buildings without cubicles.

Do your buildings normally not contain furniture and other non-structural elements that provide cover or concealment?

Why search the building when you can just use your map and get to the target immediately?

And how do you know where this target is? Do enemies have to submit maps of their locations to your bureaucracy upon seizing a building?

And why is it that commanders never make mistakes while bureaucrats do? There are 3G networks available in almost every metropolitan area as of this year, and I fail to see how the military can't take advantage of this resource when designing their hardware. It would be great just to pull up a file from a central server of the building in front of you and find out that the only entrance is through the garage, which can be accessed through a wind vent, and the doors on the ground floor are fake.

Plus, I just came back from hiatus. I want to issue stuff.

Because civilian cellular networks are trivially easy to disrupt and jam and are not remotely secure.

[Chinese Peoples]

I've selected the Xeon processor specifically due to its architecture and support for more advanced security features, I gather; the GPU consumes only a (very) modest amount of power but is positioned to assist the relatively low-end CPU in graphical display, which is what I am currently propounding. The 1080p screen might be replaced with a 1366 by 768 TN if people insist, but it would be easier to see larger models at one glance with a higher resolution in the screen.

The GPU consumes a significant amount of power when in use. More than the CPU. And it still draws power at idle, albeit obviously far less. My Core i7 has a TDP of 88W, my R9 290 has a TDP of 275W.

CPU consumes 25W, GPU 30W; that's reasonable by my standards.

It's not actually any easier to see models at a glance on a higher resolution screen, because seeing the model is simply a matter of changing the zoom factor. A 768p screen is plenty, the minor difference in detail is irrelevant and if a soldier really needs to see something he can just zoom in on a specific detail.

It's a nice thing to have, if so.

The whole thought process here seems to be a bit disjointed. On the one hand, you keep talking about models so detailed they require discrete GPUs, but on the other hand talk about troops looking at them "at a glance." Presumably if they expect to do any serious planning, they'll have to do more than look at them "at a glance." On the one hand, you expect every building in your country to have a model, but on the other hand these models are supposed to be extraordinarily detailed to require GPUs.

They can look at the models in detail when they're planning the route; they can look at the general terrain with sufficient detail when starting to grasp the general environment. Aren't there territorial features, such as a well, that are physically small but should show up clearly due to their importance?

What, did you let the enemy bomb all of your own printers or something? Soldiers don't regularly find a need to suddenly print things in the field.

Don't they? I'd imagine soldiers would handle some of their own paperwork.

The situations in which such a feature would be useful are so rare as to be irrelevant. It would be like issuing all of your troops saddles and bridles on the off chance they end up needing to ride a horse. Which is actually more likely than being stuck in a magical country where only parallel ports exist. Even Africa and Afghanistan have USB printers.

I think we can spare the perhaps $2 that would be needed to add a parallel port to a laptop.

The difference in rendering time is trivial for every task you will expect of this machine. My phone takes less than five seconds to start playing a 3D MV like the one I posted. And if you actually run the GPU your battery life goes down the tube.

My laptop (thinkpad P51s) has a discrete GPU, which is alternately in operation with the integrated Intel GPU controlled by the maxima chip or something of that nature that only runs the GPU when it's required, and the system enjoys a cozy ~12 hours battery life in actual usage. Add some swappable batteries, and battery life seems like a minor concern to me. If there are USB printers as ubiquitous as you say they are, then perhaps there will be convenient places to charge said batteries, since you can't run conventional printers off USB power anyway.

An

Do you issue extra rifles in case a soldier loses his and needs to "borrow another?"

We do issue extra napkins in case the normal one gets blown away by wind.

And if you're afraid of troops breaking or losing their equipment, you have even more reason to issue them the cheapest stuff you can find. So even more reason to do away with 1080p screens and discrete GPUs.

Perhaps some good tech will be good for morale? We're talking about accidental damage that can seriously hamper some operation if a back-up is not found soon; isn't this the same reason why there are always seconds-in-command in formations?

Do your buildings normally not contain furniture and other non-structural elements that provide cover or concealment?

Like I say, this is about providing more information, not providing all the information there is.

And how do you know where this target is? Do enemies have to submit maps of their locations to your bureaucracy upon seizing a building?

If you know your target is in room 310, then perhaps a 3D visualization of the fact that there is a dumbwaiter leading into that room from the basement kitchen skipping the enemy-occupied lobby, wouldn't that be convenient?

Because civilian cellular networks are trivially easy to disrupt and jam and are not remotely secure.

[/quote]
I'm saying that the same can be done by the armed forces for their private use. If civilians can launch satellites, so can the state.