[TenTec] Jupiter

[Geoffrey S. Mendelson]

On Tue, Jan 18, 2005 at 10:00:31AM -0500, Ten-Tec Inc. Amateur Radio Sales wrote:
> There has not been a firmware upgrade in the recent past on the Jupiter.
> There is no firmware upgrade for the Jupiter that will immimently be 
> released.
> We have no plans to stop doing firmware upgrades on the Jupiter at this 
> time.
> We have no plans to discontinue the Jupiter or replace it with another 
> model.
> 

Eventualy you reach a point of diminishing returns. The cost of a software
update is not just the cost of the programing changes, it's the cost of 
making sure nothing else broke. 

If you don't know what I'm talking about, look at the development log of
the Linux 2.4 kernel around 2.4.17 to 2.4.19. Someone "improved" the driver
for IDE (just about everyone's) hard disks and in the process broke it.
It worked but with about 1/10th the performance it should have. 

Such a problem would be a disaster for TenTec, so they must TEST TEST TEST!

> >an SDR who's functionality is limited only by the limits of the minds
> >developing them. There is great potential here if only we can exploit it!
> >Just compare the N4PY software to the pale by comparison TT offering.
> 
> That's not a valid comparison.

Actually  I think it's a very valid comparision. It shows what one person
can do without production deadlines or FCC certifcation. If he had to 
do what TenTec does with each release, he simply would not produce anything.


> Ten-Tec charges nothing for firmware updates.  We also gave our GUI
> package away for use with the Jupiter rather than charging extra for the
> software.  Remember, the GUI was developed for the Pegasus - not the
> Jupiter.  We gave away the source code to the GUI as well - and I see
> that commercial software developers have generally taken our source
> code (provided free) and turned it into a salable product - from which
> Ten-Tec derives no income.

No, but it should derive income from increased sales of it's radios due
to increased useability.

Geoff.

-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm at mendelson.com  N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: 972-544-608-069  IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838 
I may be an old fart, but I'm a high-tech, up to date old fart. :-)