Chuck Hemker wrote:
>
> I noticed that the ARRL has the Handbook on CD now. However, it says it
> requires Microsoft Windows. I was wondering if anyone has a copy and has
> looked at it to see how much it really does? Is most of the data in some cross
> platform format like PDF, or did they decide to use either a Microsoft format,
> or a proprietary format? Or maybe even in simple text?
Not sure of the Handbook CD, but others have mentioned it uses PDF, so
much should be readable from Acrobat Reader for X.
<RANT>
ARRL has released all back issues of QST on CD in the past few years and
these files are not PDF. I have the 1995 QST View (as they call it) and
it uses some proprietary file format and a custom viewer written
specifically for this application. I wrote the publications manager
about a year ago asking if X would be supported, or if the file format
would be made available for a free software project. Essentially, the
answer was no, not at this time. So, until Linux becomes the ham
platform of choice and QST View sales drop off for that reason, I don't
foresee ARRL supporting X with QST View.
QST View falls in the same vein as rigs recently introduced by Kachina,
ICOM, and Ten-Tec which are PC based and require MS Windows to even
work. Not that I'm interested in one of these as I'd really hate for my
radio to be unavailable when the MS OS crashes during a contest or when
that rare DX is on the air. But it strikes me as a bit arrogant that
these companies appear to not be willing to release the interface specs
for writing a new interface (at least the ads don't mention anything of
availability) should the default interface prove unsatisfactory. Should
the UI be deficient in some area for a small group of customers, will
these companies being willing to make those changes to the software?
Will they care?
End of my morning rant...
</RANT>
73, de Nate >>
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