If automation is the issue…as long as there is a human readable text label on the buttons you could still automate it by taking some screenshots of the bottom of the window and running it thru a OCR routine to find what the screen position of the letters “OK” appear. If the remark really is true claiming that automation is even being sold on eBay (I haven’t gone looking) then surely these people will find a way anyway selling an “upgraded” whatever. A few minutes on Google makes me suspect this sort of concept could be all done with a fairly short shell script (at least on Linux) and a few off the shelf software image manipulation packages. The only workaround would be making the 2 buttons have the labels change dramatically with similar hard to read fonts like the painful CAPTCHA things on websites – at which point it would become extremely difficult for even fully capable people to use.
This entire thing reminds me of an experience I had with some movies I purchased on disc…and found out they had so much anti-piracy stuff that I was unable to play them on any computer I owned (I used a computer as a TV). By the time I found a way to watch what I paid for (which ultimately was to use sketchy software intended to rip/copy discs), a friend pointed out they could have pirated it a dozen times to find the best quality and could have sent me an unscrambled file for free in under a day. Running legitimate users thru hell is not going to stop people who want to break the rules, they will just find a newer “solution” to violate the FCC regulations on automation and do what they please. -Matt / KK4NDE From: Neil Zampella [mailto:ne...@techie.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 2:52 PM To: wsjt-devel@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: Re: [wsjt-devel] Logging button placement My 2 cents ... there has been an issue with some 'developers' (and I use the term loosely) creating a way to get around the requirements that an operator must be in front of the rig when in operation; thus creating an automatic QSO machine. This differs from beacons, as we all know, as it is a TWO way communication. This completely violates a number of regulations both in the US, as well as other countries, yet you have people offering these 'routines' on a few sites, and even on eBay. How do you stop such obvious flouting of the regulations, as well as the original intent of the developers to make a user-friendly way to make contacts when conditions are dreadful: >>> You don't make it easy for the 'developers' who do not follow the rules. <<< I've done about 30 or 40 QSOs now with v2.1.0-RC5, both FT4 and FT8 and have not had a problem finding the OK button to log that QSO. I realize that those with limitations need to have some consistency, but that can be overcome in time by working with the developers offline. However, the constant complaints about the location of the buttons is taking up bandwidth that could be used to take care of more pressing issues with the beta. Neil, KN3ILZ On 4/30/2019 1:13 PM, WB5JJJ wrote: My vote is with Steve on restoring consistent button positions as well, even though I can easily read and locate the OK button. It does take extra time plus "muscle memory" is of no value in this, especially with the 6 second turn around now. Streamlining the process should be paramount. My reasoning: In the early days of WSJTx, there was no integration with HRD LB for logging of FT8, MSK144 or whatever mode contacts. I solved this with an auto-bot program where a double mouse click on a shortcut would start the automatic process to find the WSJTx log adi file and import it into HRD LB in a matter of seconds with no further interaction on my part. It worked great since there was not any other option except doing it manually every time. The way I set up the program was using XY positions, which worked. But as WSJTx evolved, I periodically had to make subtle changes to these locations. I took the easy road, even though the program would look for changes in color text or background and even text itself. Of course all of that is now in the past as both WSJTx and JTAlert take care of logging to HRD LB instantly. The program has long since been abandoned. So, the randomness of the OK and CANCEL are a moot point as I'm sure the auto-bot technology is even better today than several years ago. Putting the burden on the masses to attempt to defeat those few that try to automate the process is virtually impossible. WB5JJJ - George [https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-green-avg-v1.png]<http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient> Virus-free. www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient>
_______________________________________________ wsjt-devel mailing list wsjt-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wsjt-devel
