Mmmm...I don't read Ars constantly, so maybe the product discussed has been written about much before and it's assumed in the OP that everyone knows what a Linux-powered-rifle is...but I didn't...I kept waiting for a full description of what a Linux OS meant for firearms and never really got one. OK, it has something to do with the scopes and targeting...and? Is this the first Linux-powered scope? What other software has traditionally been used? Is there a command-line interface?

(half joking on that last question)

I did skim through the previous article on the gun: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/03/bullseye-from-1000-ya...

My instinctive question was...if the software is for the scope, then why does TrackingPoint have to be involved in the manufacturing of the carbine? To a layperson, it would seem that a sophisticated scope could be recalibrated to any version of the AR-15...but in reading the 2013 article linked above, TrackingPoint feels that it must control every aspect and characteristic of the shooting experience, including the ammunition (which it sells for $5-7 a cartridge):

> The PGF is able to function at range because the system is preprogrammed with the ballistic characteristics of not just the three types of rifles, but also of the ammunition. TrackingPoint has partnered with ammunition manufacturer Barnes Bullets to turn out ammunition with very specific characteristics, effectively selling both the razor and the razor blades. Our original coverage of TrackingPoint from CES drew lots of questions about reloading or hand loading—that is, assembling one's own ammunition from casings and powder and bullets—so I brought this up with Bret Boyd while we were at the range.

"Gun people are very passionate, and if you're into reloading and hand loading you're in the one percentile." We talked between shots, wearing identical Peltor electronic ear protectors. "The problem with hand loading is that you just have inconsistent results. Some people do it very good, and some don't. What I really want to avoid is the situation where someone says, 'Look, your gun doesn't work. I'm missing, and it's your fault.' And the real issue is, well, you're missing because you screwed up the ammunition—you have it loaded too hot and it's firing too high. But you're never going to believe me!" He laughed. "I'm really not trying to make a ton of money on ammo, but I want to control the outcome and I want people to have a good experience."

To be geekish about this, it seems this gun system is more akin to the Apple ecosystem than to Linux. What are the possibilities of "hacking" this gun/scope ("hacking" in the non-black-hat sense)