Reconnaissance then and now: first thoughts

On the “Technology and Its Effects” page I’ve posted links to stories in the LA Times and The New Yorker about the current unmanned aircraft that do surveillance (not to mention air strikes). The hovering drones supply live video feed as opposed to the stills developed by WWII photo labs. Live video feed allows for targeted bombing of people. The daily stills were used, I believe, to monitor significant facilities, infrastructure, and troop movements. These things, obviously, continue to be watched (and thwarted: see “North Korea, Iran, nuclear plants”) — but the WWII photo reconnaissance was mainly about large-scale destruction. “Targeted” seems to have meant something different.