# Orca: How to kill your own killer app **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570 "2012-11-10T13:09:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/21 "2012-11-12T15:10:16Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > One interesting point from the Time article on the Obama campaign - they began working on their database 18 months ago. That’s a tremendous advantage for an incumbent seeking re-election, over the guy who’s fighting for the nomination until six months before election day. So why didn’t the Republican Party develop this sort of infrastructure so it would be ready no matter who won the nomination? Why depend on the candidate to do so? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/22 "2012-11-12T15:32:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So why didn’t the Republican Party develop this sort of infrastructure so it would be ready no matter who won the nomination? Why depend on the candidate to do so? Maybe they were counting on the candidate to bring in the money, har har. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/23 "2012-11-12T15:37:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The whole _point_ of electing Romney was to make sure ‘wealthy charlatans’ can line their pockets! Why is this guy upset? That’s not fair. There was also the “get that darkie out of the White House!” point. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/24 "2012-11-12T16:45:04Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > One interesting point from the Time article on the Obama campaign - they began working on their database 18 months ago. That’s a tremendous advantage for an incumbent seeking re-election, over the guy who’s fighting for the nomination until six months before election day. The RNC could have started work on it 18 months ago or earlier. In fact, why is each campaign having to develop these resources rather than the RNC and DNC? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/25 "2012-11-12T16:55:07Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > It was probably the Russians and not Obama. Putin is already a James Bond villain- why not give him the ability to control the weather? Because [weather villains are lame](http://www.superstupor.com/sust05142008.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/26 "2012-11-12T17:25:19Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Plus this would have been helpful to him in the primaries. It’s not like he couldn’t afford it - except that he learned his lesson from Bain to never use his own money. Hey, he watched _The Producers_ and took it to heart! ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/27 "2012-11-12T18:38:43Z")
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy. A _pilot_, dammit, you _always_ run a pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/28 "2012-11-13T02:37:45Z")
Killer app? Is it really _that_ important to edit properties inside .msi files? What? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570/29 "2012-11-13T04:53:13Z")
More reporting on the ORCA that drowned under its own weight: > **[Insiders Explain How Mitt Romney's Campaign Completely Fell Apart On Election...](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mitt-romneys-campaign-completely-fell-195408549.html)** > > "It was basically a disaster." > [@](#): > > In interviews with Business Insider last week, sources close to the Romney campaign confirmed Ekdahl’s account, and described a technological undertaking that failed at every level. According to several of these sources, ORCA was developed by a small, isolated tech team working under Romney’s political team. These sources told Business Insider that the product was never properly beta-tested, and wasn’t revealed to the rest of the campaign — including the digital team — until the week of the election. > > Most people on the campaign “weren’t that surprised” by ORCA’s failure, said one Republican communications strategist close to the Romney campaign. > > “They wouldn’t let anyone outside of Romney political circle in on it until basically November 6,” the strategist said. “The digital strategy was so incomprehensible — they were playing Super Nintendo while Obama’s people had PS3.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/orca-how-to-kill-your-own-killer-app/640570.md?page=1)