> I don't think they DID build a modern computing environment at all.
I agree that, now, after they've tried and failed, we can say they didn't build a modern computing environment in 20kloc.
My point is just that, when they were pitching the project for funding, there was no real way to know that this "trillion dollar technology" goal would fail whereas nukes/moon mission/etc. would succeed. Hindsight is 20/20, but at the beginning, I don't think any of these projects defined themselves as "doing something that lots of people are trying to do all the time;" instead they would probably say "nobody else has tried for a 20kloc modern computing system, we're going to be the first."
Given they all promised to try something revolutionary, I'm not sure it's fair to claim after-the-fact how obvious it is that one would fail to achieve that vs. another.
But I do take your point that it's important in general not to fall into the trap of "do X but tweak it to be a bit better" and expect grand results from that recipe.
I agree that, now, after they've tried and failed, we can say they didn't build a modern computing environment in 20kloc.
My point is just that, when they were pitching the project for funding, there was no real way to know that this "trillion dollar technology" goal would fail whereas nukes/moon mission/etc. would succeed. Hindsight is 20/20, but at the beginning, I don't think any of these projects defined themselves as "doing something that lots of people are trying to do all the time;" instead they would probably say "nobody else has tried for a 20kloc modern computing system, we're going to be the first."
Given they all promised to try something revolutionary, I'm not sure it's fair to claim after-the-fact how obvious it is that one would fail to achieve that vs. another.
But I do take your point that it's important in general not to fall into the trap of "do X but tweak it to be a bit better" and expect grand results from that recipe.