Linux Ham Radio Software

At the beginning of 2008 I decided to install Linux on my shack computer. I disliked Microsoft treating me as a software thief with its constant Genuine Windows checks, I was fed up with all the hassles of constant updates and security software to keep Windows free of viruses and spyware, and I had no desire to eventually be forced to use Windows Vista with its unnecessary glitz, pointless user interface changes, and which broke many of my programs. As an amateur radio enthusiast, I liked the idea of using an operating system developed by other amateur enthusiasts, where the software was free and open source for all to see and learn from.

After several months, during which I found myself booting from the Windows partition more and more often, the situation arose where I had to reinstall the operating system. When it came to the point, I found there was no compelling reason to reinstall Linux. This was not due to any major defect in Linux itself, but simply because there are so many more applications and products that only run under Windows.

Conclusion

This is not meant to be an anti-Linux article. In fact, most of the main criticisms I have made about the lack of really good quality Linux ham radio software and the lack of hardware that is supported under Linux apply to the Mac OS as well. I would love to be able to use Linux with my radio hobby and not be helping to perpetuate Microsoft's dominance of the OS arena. But Linux was getting in the way of my doing what I wanted to do. Some of the obstacles could perhaps be overcome given time and knowledge. But I'd really rather spend my hobby time using the radio than trying to find solutions to problems that wouldn't be problems if I used Windows. Life's too short to be using Linux!

When I was younger and working in corporate IT I was often told that the problem with IT people is that they try to make the user requirement fit their preferred solution. The correct approach to an IT problem is to analyze the requirement and then try to find the best solution. So you should think about exactly what radio and electronics applications you need, and then choose the computer and operating system on the basis of what will run them. Just deciding to run Linux is putting the cart before the horse, unless your real objective is to try out Linux, in which case don't let me stop you.

I don't like Microsoft any more than I did when I first decided I was going to use Linux for ham radio. But the bottom line is I'm able to do a lot more with the software Windows offers me, and that, for me, is what ultimately matters.