Leap into action and nominate your favorite open source software

Its nothing about extinction of the different OS. I found in private my way to Linux and Windows became useless. When Windows is needed in the job, thats different.

The base of Debian is always a good choice. The problem of the system is, that all needs to be stable, which takes time. Windows is never perfect and a money machine, which everybody should know. The errors and mistakes will be solved with the ill patient, when they occure.

Microsoft dictates who is worth to provide drivers for the OS. In Linux you can use drivers from the 90s and old hardware will work until today. My Bear Paw Scanner worked from the middle of the 90s up to 2015. Then the stepmotor got defective. For the scanner in Windows use, the lifetime wasnt much more than around 2004. The original drivers didnt worked anymore.

At next to configure the Kernel of Linux is a topic by itself. And to fully understand, if not a developer, is useless too. Sometimes the ordinary config is strange enough. And for example a Pi-Star is based on Linux and bring some users to the end of the own possibilities. So that DMR out of the box is often more than enough for some operators.
And I always will support the thoughts of Open Source as good as I can. Because these thoughts are similar to the start of HAM-Radio for about more than 100 years. Its a special kind of freedom, and when well experienced you will not leave.

 

I like Quisk

https://james.ahlstrom.name/quisk/

 

I like Blue DV on Windows/ using DV mega stick & Peanut by PA7LIM great digital QSO on DMR, DSTAR,FUSION,NXDN ….. EchoLink , RepeaterPhone app

 

KE9NS Has done wonders with his SDR software (PowerSDRKE9NS) for the Flex 1500. It turns an "old" Flex into a thing of beauty and I am truly grateful for all the hard work and dedication that he has put into it.

 

This has always been the key detail for me. Being able to FIX things in the software myself. For the person who has the ability to modify software, having the source is exceedingly useful. Sometimes, the changes aren't remotely interesting to the upstream maintainers and I keep the patches around for my own usage.

 

MSHV, despite the enormous amount of butthurt from St. Joe's attack dogs.

 

Yes, love the AMBE device, DVmega Globetrotter (see current QST review) and its BlueDV. Fun, but not sure if DV without radio is still radio. (Mercifully, not the topic here!) Only quibble is old ver only of BDV could be persuaded to run with Linux too, but AFAIK the new ones don't. All the same, great work from PA7LIM.

 

QLog - PC based logger
WfView - ICOM wireless rig control with scope
CloudLog - Web based logger
CloudLogOffline - Android / Ios logger, integrates with Cloudlog webserver
Kappanhang - ICOM wireless rig control, terminal based, super low latency

 

Thanks for mentioning this one, I'll check it out.

 

Contest Logger: not1mm-K6GTE
I used Linux as my main computer and have for over 5 years. I use many of the programs stated here and they all work great. Recently I found the contest software that I have been looking for, for a really long time. K6GTE built it and has posted it so that we can all use it if needed. It is great to have Hams and developers that can do this, and because its "open source" its free. Thanks Micheal check out his QRZ for the link to install.

 

Yo, same

 

Perhaps. But there are problems with the US patent system - For most, the process is prohibitively expensive and a roll of the dice in terms of granting a patent. And if a patent is granted, then maintenance fees of said patent will be quite expensive. Further, even if you have a patent and there is an infringement, then its totally on you to fight & enforce. So perhaps you will win the case, perhaps not. Legal fees can kill you. Edwin Armstrong found that out the hard way.

USA patents these days barely even slow down Asian copycats.

So in my view, the patent system is really only for large corporations with a lot of money, and those who can afford to and want to have even a small measure of protection for their inventions. And of course, patents are seen as status symbols and are worth money.

 

True but then it can get into a situation like the Linux mess, too many fingers in the pie. Multiple versions which are incompatible with each other, applications which only work on certain distros, fragmented dependencies, etc.

I can certainly see where an individual would like to have the source in order to modify for their own personal needs though.

I never open source any of my complete applications just because of such things. I do share useful code fragments though.

 

The Linux mess? It's a beautiful system of a dependency tree which resolves all that for you. It may have been tricky a decade ago but those days are long gone! Regards patents, I'm not sure it works the same way in software. I'm not sure M$ ever released the code for their O/S's?!

 

A Linux mess? As one who has used many flavors of Linux since 1990s, I have to wonder about someone claiming a mess. Currently I run Linux (Arch, Debian, Mint), Win (98-11), Mac. Both Mac and Linux seem remarkable stable over many years when in comes to backward compatibility, though as expected newer app versions are generally better. However, the Linux package system (deb, rpm, etc) for convenient app installation does vary between distros, and this difference discourages many from exploring different distros each with an intended user base. I have only a few Win package installers from the early years that still install without problems, over the years.
Yes, it is useful and fun to tinker under the hood of Linux, definitely not welded shut. Patents? and protection for software happens in many forms, perhaps more suitable than patents: GPL, Copyright, copyleft, EUA.... A fine example of the proprietary and OS mixing in the real world might be Red Hat / Fedora, Suse?

BTW, remembering the thread.... A vote please for the new JTDX 2.2.159, now a worthy feature-rich companion to WSJTX.