On 2014-03-13 10:44, Michael E Fox -
N6MEF wrote:
You
missed the point.
My
point is that all this time spent on defining applications
could and should be spent on defining
management/configuration screens, status screens, logging,
etc. for the primary purpose of this box. ...
Michael
N6MEF
I think part of what all of us are experiencing, is the frustration
of (in many cases) made purchasing decisions (eg,
not buying
something else) based on a schedule that has (for speeds over
9.6k) slipped by at least a year. Some of us have also seen
software products (whether free or commercial) languish for bug
fixes or serious enhancements, while "software engineers" fiddle
with changes for the sake of cosmetics (Thunderbird being a prime
example). Like you, I hope that primary software efforts are not
being delayed for "adjunct" software. Of course, most of the
software effort is volunteer, and different people have different
skills (I'm an embedded developer, not a GUI wizard).
On the other hand, many commercial products can't survive
economically without "appliance" users, or even "toy" users. Ten
years ago, the number of amateur radio licensees was steadily
declining; now, it is up by about 8%. Now, some will argue whether
or not that's a good thing (I will argue the latter, but not here),
but the fact is, most consumer products exist (at least at current
prices) due to this effect. UDR has appliance purchasers lining up,
and it needs them as well as "us" (meaning those that
don't want
any eMail software on the UDRX) for both survival and the resources
to support us (there
will be changes).
However, like everyone else, I'm not getting any younger, and I've
been looking at alternate solutions. Tuesday evening I bought a
commercial 5.8GHz digital (eg, Ethernet) radio and 36" dish for $200
total to use with the HamWAN project. Two days later (today)
I
am on the air (through a 2nd story window -- need to move it
higher) to a
remote Internet connection at 1.5Mbps, for 1/2
the price of a UDRX. When I mount the antenna higher, I should get
over 10Mbps.
Assuming we get the UDRX with a speed of (say) 128Kbps by fall, then
some of us will only have ourselves to communicate with. I'm in the
Pacific NW, and I know some of the UDRX buyers: some of them will
be "slow" to get a usable network up. Meanwhile, I'm on the air to
others on the HamWAN network and the Internet,
today. I
will probably buy a second radio/antenna combo to experiment with.
Whether these radios supplant or replace my reservation for two UDRX
radios, I have not decided.