[Elecraft] Windows Needed

[Jim Brown]

On 5/1/2020 12:34 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
> With refurbished desktop computers available in the $200 to $300 price 
> range, many loaded with Windows 10 Pro, it is not a big deal to have a 
> dedicated Windows PC as the shack computer.  Oh yes, you need a monitor 
> too, but those also are not expensive.

Yes, and there are refurb (off lease) Thinkpads in this price range, all 
loaded with some version of Win10. The built-in battery greatly reduces 
the need for an outboard UPS, they're easy to take into the field, and 
all accommodate an outboard monitor. I take my shack computer into the 
field three times a year for 7QP, CQP, and FD.

This isn't a matter of which OS is better, it's simply that much more 
ham software is written for Windoze. And as NQ5T has noted, most of it 
can be run on a Mac in a Windows simulation.

And SOME ham software is multi-platform. All of Elecraft's own control 
programs are written for Windoze and Mac, and K1JT's WSJT-X is compiled 
for Windoze, Mac, and multiple versions of Linux.

73, Jim K9YC