[Elecraft] Ham software (was: [K2] Remote control programs)

[Vic K2VCO]

Julian G4ILO wrote:

> I don't have any axe to grind for any of the programs mentioned, and
> in fact use none of them, but I have to take issue with the notion
> that HRD is great just because it's free. I believe that the range and
> quality of software available to hams is limited because of their
> reluctance to pay for it, and that we are ultimately the poorer for it

First, I'm a professional programmer.

I've paid good money for some ham (and other) software, and it has 
turned out to be junk. Much ham software is written by hams who are not 
professional programmers, and it shows.

There is a big difference in writing a program that is useful to you, 
and one that will work properly in multiple environments, has a polished 
interface, a balanced feature set, etc.

Unfortunately, even if hams were more willing to pay for software, the 
market is small. The cost of professional programming is high, so that 
means that the per-unit cost of good ham software would need to be quite 
high for the publisher to make a profit. Do you want to pay $500 for a 
rig control program? I didn't think so.

That's why we shouldn't expect to find much good ham software for sale. 
On the other hand, there is the author of HRD who is willing to provide 
a world-class program as a labor of love. We are very lucky. There are a 
few others that have decent shareware or low-cost programs. But they are 
not going to make a living that way.

Another approach that works is the open-source model, which has given us 
the N1MM contest logging program. A little clunky, written in VB, it's 
nevertheless one of the best programs of its genre. And it is free too.
-- 
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco