It’s one of Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ lasting legacies: pumping billions into producing drones, cameras, sensors and aerostats so U.S. troops can have a better picture of the wars they fight. And the Office of Naval Research is saying it’s still not good enough.

Not that the office is criticizing Gates. It’s just that a new solicitation from the Navy’s super-scientists to create a big new “autonomous persistant tactical surveillance” is really impatient with all the inefficiencies that confront troops starved for better intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools. And no wonder: t...

A large part of my job is dealing with people who work in public relations. The vast majority of those whose do PR for video game companies are polite, well-intentioned, and extremely professional. They need us to get their games coverage, and we need them for access to the developers and early code to review in a timely manner. The press and PR relationship may sometimes be strained, but it’s rarely adversarial.