Eventually I will save the world... with my thumbs

Since we are talking about the vidya games this week, via Instapundit here are some real world applications (with emphasis added by my thumbs):

The U.S. Army has discovered a remote control gun turret that works, and cannot get enough of them. The army wants over 9,000 CROWS (common remotely operated weapon stations), but is only getting 15 a month. There should be about a thousand CROWS in service by the end of the year. . . .

But there's another reason, not often talked about, for the success of CROWS. The guys operating these systems grew up playing video games. They developed skills in operating systems (video games) very similar to the CROWS controls. This was important, because viewing the world around the vehicle via a vidcam is not as enlightening (although a lot safer) than having your head and chest exposed to the elements, and any firepower the enemy sends your way. But experienced video gamers are skilled at whipping that screen view around, and picking up any signs of danger.

In the perfect world of blogs, I would have a video clip here of the Futurama episode where Frye saves the planet from space invaders. Instead, I'll have to quote the alien general's main strategy:

Descend, and reverse direction!