From:	Paul J. Adam Paul@********.demon.co.uk
Subject:	SOTA
Date:	Tue, 13 Jul 1999 23:28:28 +0100

In article <4.2.0.58.19990713111117.00975350@*****.engin.umich.edu>,
Sommers <sommers@*****.edu> writes
>Guns are not affected by SOTA. However, ammunition is. In January, Ares
>introduces a new load for its bullets that has better penetrating power.
>The SOTA for armor is increased, decreasing its effective armor rating.

The problem is, this cycle is measured in decades, not months. 9mm and
.45ACP both appeared in the first decade of this century and both look
well set to ride it out as popular and widespread calibres. 10mm, for
instance, was "better" in terms of ballistics, but was hard to shoot and
tended to break guns: and it's always better to hit with a weaker round
than to miss with a potent one.

Computer gear fits SOTA rules, where obsolescence is rapid and fatal: I've
gone through a number of personal computers, starting with a Sinclair
ZX81, to a Sirius PC-compatible, to a 12MHz 286 to a 486 to a P100 to the
P266MMX I'm writing this on, over the last eighteen years.

Most physical equipment doesn't. When my stepfather bought me that
ZX81 (with its staggering 1K of memory) it was merely cheap: today it's a
bookend. The US Army was using the M16 assault rifle in 1981 and they're
still using the M16 today. Still 5.56mm, still the same basic design. A
tweak from M193 to M855 ball... okay, so SOTA in firearms gets checked
every ten years. A M16A1 made in 1981 will kill with almost the same
efficiency as a M16A2 built in 1999: there isn't that much difference
between them.

>However, individuals that buy old ammo are behind the SOTA, and so armor is
>still full strength against those rounds. In a month or so Ares rolls out a
>new line of armor that is better at stopping their own rounds. Buying that
>armor keeps an individual up on the armor SOTA and therefore gets the full
>benefit of his armor.

This happens, briefly and rarely, during arms races. (An example would be
dreadnought construction in the 1900s). More usually, the evolution is
much slower, simply because none of the _real_ consumers can afford to
render entire arsenals obsolete every month.

--
Paul J. Adam