[Elecraft] Elecraft Digest, Vol 124, Issue 11

[Edward R Cole]

I agree with Don, for the reason that open source often leads to 
chaos and non-standardization: eg Linux in all its flavors.  I think 
Elecraft is wise to keep sw development "in house".  So a suggestion 
that would be a compromise would be a small programmer pool (vetted 
experts) that could summit sw solutions to many of the 
"wants".   That might save the staff some time or provide a wider 
variety of code to chose from.  But sw (firmware) should stay under 
the Elecraft control and approval.

I, like Don, am a sw user.  I am not interested in "doing sw".  I 
have other interests that I want to focus on.  Any9one remember the 
sw chaos in the early days of packet?  Finally a standard was developed.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the efforts of the computer savy and 
sw wizards.  I just don't have time to be one! ;-)

73, Ed - KL7UW

From: Don Wilhelm <w3fpr at embarqmail.com>
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft Digest, Vol 124, Issue 11
Message-ID: <53F38A40.1030709 at embarqmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

I have used several open-source programs on my PC.  I am a user, not a
programmer, so I have a different perspective.
The "support" is through forums, and if you are not sufficiently skilled
in "geek speak", there is danger that you will be flamed for asking a
question, or you may receive an answer that is so thoroughly steeped in
"geek speak" that it is useless for you.  Been there done that.
Besides you have to constantly monitor the forum to see if anyone has
provided an answer to your question.

If a user has a problem with an Elecraft product and contacts Elecraft
support, you can expect to discuss your situation with someone who is
both responsive and knowledgeable and will work with you to resolve the
issue or present it to engineering.  I highly suspect that would not be
the case if the firmware were open-source.

Open-source is 'nice' for programmers who want to implement their pet
additions, but for the majority of users, open-source is not the way to
go IMHO.

73,
Don W3FPR



73, Ed - KL7UW
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