[TRLog] From the CT reflector

[Al Gritzmacher]

At 10:26 AM 11/14/97 -0800, you wrote:
>
>This exchange originally occurred on the CT reflector, and I was
>very impressed with the response that Dick generated.  I could not
>have said it as well - and it is better coming from someone else
>anyway:
>
>>OK, at the risk of flames/mailbombing, here goes:
>>
>>Why is the "Rolls-Royce/Cadillac/Mercedes" (your choice of car/country) of
>>contesting software still not ported to a multitasking environment like
>>Win95 and/or OS/2 or Linux? Any thought for the 000's (maybe millions) of
>>poor 3rd World users like yours truly who do not have access to a
>>PacketCluster and must rely on a single machine for a multitude of tasks
>>like running CT, connecting to a WebCluster etc.etc.?
>>
>>In any case, why the fixation with DOS, which will disappear soon? If a
>>multitasking  OS of choice, why not Win95 or Linux? Living in this day &
>>age why must CT stick to the 8088 era? At $ 80 a throw surely one can 
>>expect to get CT in the OS of choice, or am I wrong?
>>
>>73 de Tariq/AP2TJ.
>
>I'll offer an opinion or two.  I write software for a living, and I've 
>used several contest logging programs for about 8 years.
>
>
<Big snip>

6.) If you're setting up a multi-multi station on a shoestring budget, would
you want to spend $1500+ per station for computers or $300-$500 range for
used/refurbished computers with CGA/low-end VGA monitors that will probably
never run Win95, but do great with CT/TR etc. Sure you could run Linux on
them, but the average guy wuld be lost trying to learn a new operating
system on top of a new logging program an hour before a contest. 


7) Who says a GUI is a step foward? I like a command line interface and I
don't like to take my hands off the keyboard to grope around for a mouse to
do every little mundane thing. When I use Windoze I use keyboard shortcuts
whenever possible. Why navigate through a maze of menus when a simple
two-key combination will do what you need? Frankly, I'd rather spend some
time to learn a piece of software, and have my full attention on the contest
rather than be distracted navigating through a program.

>Cheap software is cheap because you sell many thousands of copies.  

Then what is the excuse for popular but expensive programs like MS Office,
Corel Draw, Photopaint, etc? ;-) (Just a rhetorical question!)

- Al AE2T


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