[Ham-Linux] Free software (was png/gif stuff)

Sat, 18 Jan 2003 17:40:26 -0600

Here! Here!

* Bryan Fields <[email protected]> [2003 Jan 18 16:21 -0600]:
> The arrl should not be encouraging the development of non-free software.  
> Doing so leads to dead code, and shoddy software.  Most ham software is 
> written by one or two people, if they loose intrest, die, or decide to take 
> the project in a new direction, you can be left with software that has no 
> chance of ever being improved or supported. 

Agreed!  However, has anyone tried submitting an article on building a
program for Linux to the QST editors?  Even though I have submitted code
to a project or two, I know I'm not qualified to write such an article.

I have not read the article in depth, but from scanning over it, the
process appears to be little more than drag and drop and perhaps a bit
of scripting.  Sort of a virtual Lego set if you will.

Programming in the Free Software world of Linux and friends is more
hardcore, however, a darned fine start might be a simple project written
in Python and PyQT and then uses an embedded DB to create a simple log
book.  A bit more advanced would be to utilize a MySQL backend, but then
we get lost in database administration.  :-(

As an alternative, if I've read correctly, Open Office has some DB
capability, so scripting a logboook with that might be possible.

For radio control there is the Hamlib project http://hamlib.sourceforge.net
that can ease the programmers' job of radio control.  The project is
still young and more help is needed to test radio backends and write
code to support more models.  At some point language bindings other than
C/C++ will be possible, although Perl and Tk are available in an
experimental form now.

> This is why we need free and open technology in the ham market.

Is there some way to convince these authors to release their code once
they orphan it?  Look at the AO, YO, etc. packages orphaned by K6STI a
couple of years back.  How does the radio art advance if the modeling
techniques in those programs stay locked up forever?

I'm preaching to the choir, I know.

On the other hand, it was rather amusing to me to think that now we'll
have a bunch of $39.95 VB based shareware on the ham market from the new
"wonder programmers" spawned by the QST article.

Unfortunately, no one has yet written the "killer app" that works on
Linux only to draw interest in the platform.  Sadly, until recently,
there was no WSJT/FSK441 software available outside of Windows.  The
innovation still seems to be happening "over there" and we Linux users
are left out.

Sadly, hams, as a group, held on to Commodore 64s much longer than the 
general population as well.  Sigh...

73, de Nate >>

P.S. I'm not really this sour.  I just got back from having a great time
at a hamfest and am hoping for some Es to test a new 6m antenna I put up
a while ago.

-- 
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