[Trlog] Who Will Kill TRlog?

[Tony AI9X]

Hello everyone,
    I wanted to add a few points since my last post. I use TR on a 486 that
I
got for free, and can run under DOS or Win95 so to get telnet spots, email
and Instant Messaging (used in SS). I enjoy the program, and am still at the
beginner level (not comfortable with running stations yet, so mostly S&P).
Reading email is painfully slow at best, but TR runs fine. I use the
parallel port BTW, and don't have radio control or anything neat like that.

    I don't think its an issue of how the program is written, but more of
the
underlying technology that needs to be addressed (serial ports, network,
bios, etc). So re-writing it as others have said would cause a split in the
userbase - and probably is not the best outcome.

    If we cannot keep older PC style hardware around, for whatever reason,
then
making TR portable is the answer. Since its an compiled executable, a
"wrapper" around the TR.exe file to make it run on _anything_ is what's
needed. Windows, Linux, Mac, DOS, Netware, PDA, Tablet PC's - its a
fundamental interface problem. I'd love to run on a fast machine to have all
the networking/spots/email/whatever - and maybe the core application needs
to have more transparent interfaces to all its external hooks so that it
continues to work. I'm sure running TR on a P4 would require an airbag in
the monitor if it ever stopped suddenly. A port would be a big effort, and
by then, the game plan would be changed.

    Tree & Ron - keep up the good work. I will try and keep that Gateway
running, and I have a few extra 486's that a co-worker was tossing out. My
ideas about Perl and Java were meant in the best context, and maybe Pascal
has something similar that could be considered. Think portability.

    Don't forget some new ideas: client/server for multi's or thin-client
(remote server & database). Yes, I know its "just" a contesting program, but
once new interfaces are developed, who know what's possible (general logging
software with a database?).

Thanks for the bandwidth folks.

73,
Tony, AI9X

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tree" <tree at kkn.net>
To: <trlog at contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2003 8:20 AM
Subject: Re: [Trlog] Who Will Kill TRlog?


> On Sat, Feb 22, 2003 at 08:42:53AM -0500, K5NZ at aol.com wrote:
>
> > It's about time for us to hear from you Tree....
>
> The Tree is silent in the forest - having pretty much said all there
> is to say on this subject.  However, I can say it all again.
>
> > Speak to us oh master of TR, we your dedicated followers wish to hear
your
> > words on this subject!  Lead us through this maze of discontent and
trickery
> > from the silicone giants.
>
> Well - I agree with some of the points being made.  There is no doubt
> that a Windows version of TR - which keeps all of the good stuff in the
> current program, and makes it easier for users to take advantage of the
> new possibilities that "windows" enables, would be a good thing.
>
> There are some that thing the recent real time scoring system that was
> done during WRTC would be a cool thing to do for something like the
> SS or Sprints (although I think it is still more desirable to have
> those people actually on the air).   This is harder to do under DOS
> without easy internet access.
>
> Networking is a tall order without being in the Windows environment
> (or linux).
>
> And yes, there have been several people who come along and think they
> can help port TR to a windows environment...  but so far, nobody has
> actually done it.
>
> Am I the only guy on the planet that can do this?  Probably not, and
> certainly my lack of experience programming under windows is a big
> reason why I am probably not the guy to do this.  When I started TR,
> I had been programming professionally (on and off) for 8 years in a
> DOS environment using the archaic language of Pascal.
>
> The logical choice for me to try and make a windows version would be
> using Delphi - which is essentially a Visual Basic type of program,
> that uses Pascal for the real work.  I have from time to time actually
> started trying to get familar with the program - and am trying once
> again to get comfortable with it.  This might lead someday to some
> kind of windows version of the program - but it will probably take
> a long time until it would be good enough to replace TR for most of
> you.  It might become a TR like program - that could appeal to a
> larger market than the die hard 100 QSOs/hour contesters that most
> of you are.
>
> As you all know, I don't have as much free time for doing this as I
> used to.  This is a situation that will probably change sometime
> down the road.  Hopefully, sometime in the next 10 years, I can set
> myself up for some kind of retirement - one that will leave me with
> more time for this sort of thing - and putting energy into it will
> be both possible and required as I doubt I will be so comfortable
> that having no income at all would be an option.
>
> So - there is some hope that in 2010 or 2015, there could be some
> kind of Windows version.
>
> Maybe having some kind of section in the manual about how to setup
> your disk for multi-boot would be a good thing.  Someone who has
> actually done this would have to help write it - so I can learn
> how to do it.
>
> EFI is coming - which is a pretty scary thing from a DOS person's
> perspective.  At Intel, we have a bunch of programmers working on
> redeveloping many of the DOS tools we current use during BIOS
> development - because the BIOS isn't going to support the hooks to
> support DOS in the next generation of PCs.  Yes - there are BIOS
> engineers today at Intel that still rely on DOS to get their job
> done.
>
> I suspect that there are enough smart people who will enable the
> Pascal language to run under EFI - and a port of TR to that is
> possible - and that might even open up some functionality that is
> currently only available under windows...  I don't know.
>
> Thanks for all of the nice comments about the program.  It is nice
> to know that some of you feel strongly enough about the program
> to put up with the hassle.  It really seems to me that having a
> computer setup to deal with TR and a second one for the windows
> stuff in your life isn't that big of a deal.  The 486 PC that
> you need probably can be had on e-bay for under $100.
>
> And - I would like to yet again thank Ron for showing up and
> helping put a new coat of paint on TR.  This has given me a
> chance to rest and have some of my creativity energy come back
> (albeit slowly).  Hopefully, you will see positive results from
> this at some point.
>
> 73 Tree
>
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