Category: Show Notes

LHS Show Notes #041

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Feature:

  • No Richard this time due to other commitments. In his stead, our special guest host is Claudio M, co-host of Linux Basement.
  • Claudio describes his background, history with Linux, and his role at Linux Basement.
  • Russ comments that many people at the Dayton Hamvention wondered what he was selling, and were shocked to discover that Linux was free. In fact, Russ was giving away Ubuntu 10.04 CDs, courtesy of Ohio Linux Fest. This observation leads to a discussion about the perceived value of Linux is proportional to it's cost. In other words, the fact that open software often costs nothing leads many to think it is somehow less useful than software that must be purchased.
  • Russ suggests that the fact that Linux has no budget for marketing may be one of the reasons that many people are not aware of Linux. A discussion of the role of marketing and Linux advocacy ensues. Claudio mentions the Fedora Ambassador program.
  • Sheldon (of The Big Bang Theory) prefers Ubuntu!
  • IBM did air some Linux commercials. Perhaps they were too abstract or too focused on the enterprise?
  • Should Linux and free/open-source software attempt to be the dominant software, or should it remain a niche platform?
  • Linux still has a reputation for being harder to install and harder to use.
  • If Linux is to grow it's market share, isn't marketing necessary and how would it be funded?
  • Claudio notes that it's rare for anyone to install an operating system from scratch, as most people purchase a computer with the OS already installed, and that operating system is usually Windows. When ASUS introduced the Linux-based netbook, it did not make it clear that it would not run Windows programs.
  • So how do we market Linux? Russ thinks Linux has been most successful when people are not aware that it's Linux, as in many commercially successful embedded Linux products.
  • Claudio suggests that the Linux distributions tailored to the new user, such as Linux Mint or Ubuntu, will ultimately spread the awareness of Linux and free software. He also thinks that world-domination is not necessary or even consistent with the core values free choice and free software.
  • Look for Chad on Twitter at @chadwollenberg, Claudio on identi.ca at @claudiom, and look for #linuxbasement on IRC on freenode.net. There is also a Facebook fan page, search for Linux Basement. Email Claudio at claudio@linuxbasment.com or Chad Wollenberg at chad@linuxbasement.com.

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.

LHS Show Notes #040

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Announcements:

  • Resonant Frequency is back in production! Check out rfpodcast.info for more information and look for the latest episode, #41, in the usual places.
  • Look for LHS merchandise at https://cafepress.com/lhspodcast and at https://www.printfection.com/lhs. A little bit of each purchase goes to help with the podcast expenses.
  • We're planning a future episode about Orca - a text-to-speech application for Linux. If you or someone you know is using Orca or another text-to-speech Linux application, share your experience! Contact Russ or Richard with any information you might have.
  • Visit the LHS channel on IRC at irc.freenode.net, channel #lhspodcast.
  • Look for random LHS episodes and music on the streaming audio links on the LHS web site.
  • Russ will be speaking at 2:00pm on Saturday, June 12th, at the SouthEast LinuxFest, June 11-13, 2010, at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC. He will be giving a talk on Linux and Ham Radio.
  • Russ will be starting up a mailing list for LHS show information. Watch the LHS web site for information on signing up.
  • Thanks to Rich, KD0BJT and Brady, KD0BJS of the Low SWR Podcast for recording an introduction to this episode.

Feature:

  • Richard discusses installing an HF rig in his vehicle.
  • Always connect the radio directly to the battery. You'll have more current available and less noise.
  • Look for rubber grommets in the firewall to pass your wires into the passenger compartment.
  • Warning! Not all Powerpole connectors are Anderson Powerpole connectors! Some hamfest specials look the same, but don't work as well.
  • Most mobile 40m and 75m antennas are not very broadbanded, so you will probably need an antenna tuner to cover the whole band.
  • Richard digresses into a brief discussion of Ubuntu 10.04. Russ was in a recent episode of the Fresh Ubuntu podcast.
  • Russ likes the looks of the Scorpion Black Widow HF antenna.
  • Welcome to K5AVJ who is running Linux Mint, and to VE2XPL, running Ubuntu 10.04.

Feedback:

  • Gary, KE2YK, writes about the discussion of ebook readers in Episode 31 and suggests this link to an old Radio Shack catalog as an example of a compromise between electronic and paper media. Visit Gary's Random Oscillations blog, and his online store at https://www.ehamstore.com/.
  • Andy, OE4DNS, recently became a ham, is an avid Linux user, and just discovered the podcast. He's a member of of the Metalab hacker space in Vienna, Austria. Andy responds to a question in Episode 37 from KJ4UHI about Morse code programs for Linux, and Andy suggests the Learn CW Online website provided by DJ1YFK. You can even export practice sessions to .mp3 files. Andy also recommends finding a hacker space in your area at the Hackerspaces web site. Fabian Kurz, DJ1YFK, is also the author of YFK Log. VE2XPL in the chat room also likes the Learn CW Online web site.
  • Tom is a first-time listener to the podcast with Episode 37, and thinks we spent too much time promoting merchandise.
  • Bruce, VE2GZI, writes to say thanks for the podcast and looks forward to seeing us at Dayton.
  • Albert commented on the web site that we should let The Linux Link site know about the new LHS web site and feeds.
  • Darryl, VK5HZ, just caught up to Episode 33. He'd love to have LHS visit the linux.conf.au conference held in January each year. In 2011 it will be in Brisbane, Queensland.

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.
  • Leave us a voice mail at 888-455-0305 or 417-429-4069, or record an introduction to the podcast and have a chance at winning $25.

Music:

LHS Show Notes #039

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Announcements:

Donations:

  • We received donations from Peter, Walter and Maddie (daughter of Bill, KA9WKA).  Thank you!  Donations help defray the hosting expenses.
  • Jim, W9GNG, sent Richard a noise gate!  Thank you, Jim!
  • LHS merchandise is now available at https://www.printfection.com/lhs.  There are a variety of shirts, mugs and other items.  Every item purchased will help the podcast.  If you're interested in caps, wall clocks, or hoodies with the LHS logo, visit our store at https://www.cafepress.com/lhspodcast.  A portion of each sale goes to the podcast.  If you visit Dayton wearing or carrying an LHS item, you could win a prize!

Feature:

  • Resonant Frequency is still on hiatus as Richard is still in the process of moving the site to a new host.  Watch the LHS web page for more information as it develops.
  • Ubuntu 10.04 will be released on April 30.  Russ has the second beta test version running and discusses the new theme and other changes.  It boots much faster, but once running, it seems slower than the previous release, at least on his hardware.
  • Pete, VE2XPL, in the chat room asks which version of Linux would run best on his 500MHz Pentium II machine.  Richard recommends trying Crunchbang Linux Lite.  Russ agrees, and suggests that just about any distribution might work with one of the light-weight window managers, such as FVWM or XFCE.  Other possibilies are Damn Small Linux, or one of the netbook remix distributions.

Feedback:

  • Danny, KJ4UHI, writes and leaves an audio message about Frostbite Systems and passing his Technicians license test.  He asks where he might get recordings to study Morse code. Richard discusses various options.  There are some Linux applications, like cwcp.
  • Gary, KE2YK, also left an audio message. Visit his Random Oscillations blog, and his online store at https://www.ehamstore.com/.
  • Mark, KC4GIA, wonders about Linux support for syncing his Zune audio player.  Our hosts discuss this.  One possible source of information is the Zuneboards site.

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.
  • Leave us a voice mail at 888-455-0305 or 417-429-4069, or record an introduction to the podcast and have a chance at winning $25.

Music:

LHS Show Notes #038

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Announcements:

  • OGGCamp will take place at The Black-E in Liverpool on the 1st and 2nd of May.
  • The 2010 Southeast LinuxFest is set for June 12-13 at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC.
  • Look for Russ on Shortcast #0003 of the Fresh Ubuntu Podcast.
  • LHS has a new audio promo for the show! So far, it's only been played by the Working in the Open podcast.
  • Jerry, KD0BIK, again mentioned LHS as a good Linux podcast on a recent episode of The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Thanks, Jerry!
  • We received no entries for our logo contest, so Russ bought one! Check out the new website design and logo and let us know what you think. LHS merchandise is coming soon!
  • Russ and Richard will be at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention, May 14-16, in booth 265 in the North Hall (NH0265). We hope to see you there!
  • Russ will also be at the SouthEast LinuxFest, June 12-13, 2010, at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC. Russ will be delivering a talk on ham radio and Linux.
  • Richard has a noise gate! It was a gift from Jim, W9GNG. Thanks very much, Jim!
  • Due to problems with the existing service provider, the LHS website has moved to lhspodcast.info. If you have a web page with a link to Linux in the Ham Shack at blacksparrowmedia.com/lhs, please change it to lhspodcast.info. Blacksparrowmedia.com will be going away in the near future.
  • The other show, Resonant Frequency, is still on hiatus, but those links will be changing, too. Watch this space for more information.
  • Look for LHS in IRC at irc.freenode.net, channel #lhspodcast. Join us!
  • LHS, along with other podcasts on the Tech Podcasts Network are now available on the Boxee and Roku media players.

Feature:

  • Richard and Russ discuss XDX, an X-windows client to connect to a DX-cluster, written by Joop Stakenborg, PG4I.
  • In Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or Debian, you can use 
            apt-get install xdx

    to install the program. Setup is simple:

    • Click Settings, then Preferences. Enter your call sign, and if you have your radio connected to the computer and it can be controlled by the hamlib utilities, click the "Enable hamlib" checkbox. Click OK.
    • Click Host, Connect... and enter the information for your favorite DX cluster. Visit the AR-Cluster Node List web page to find one near you. Russ used k2can.net, port 4000. Click Connect. (If a port is not specified, try 23.)
    • Type your call sign and press enter to log in. The cluster may ask a few questions to confirm your name and location.
  • Spots appear in the upper window pane. Prompts from the host appear in the middle pane, and your entry goes in the bottom pane.
  • If you wish to send a spot, look in the help file for examples such as: 
            dx 28002.2 xz7a worked with 80m dipole!!
  • In general, it's "dx" followed by the frequency, the station you've spotted, and a comment.
  • Other commands are documented in the help file.
  • Another web page that lists cluster nodes is www.ng3k.com/Misc/cluster.html.

Feedback:

  • Along with the noise gate, Jim, W9GNG, sent a letter expressing his appreciation for the podcast and tells us a bit about his background.
  • Jim, N2ENN, writes a response to our discussion of his email back in Episode 034, again condemning the state of drivers in Linux. Thanks for the response and discussion points, Jim.
  • Thanks to Gary, KE2YK, for mentioning the podcast at every opportunity, and his donation! Donations will be applied to hosting costs.
  • William (Bill?), KB9TMP, recently discovered the podcast via Resonant Frequency. He's also a new Linux user, but is having trouble finding help, and he comments about "old" hams and "new" hams. Our hosts respond.
  • Danny, not currently a ham, is blind and studying for his license test. He'd like to use Linux with Orca and wonders what hardware is best and what other Linux programs for ham radio are suitable for the blind user. Check out the Courage Center Handiham System and Frostbite Sytems. There is a version of Ubuntu for the visually impaired called Vinux, and a version of Arch Linux for the blind. Ask around your local amateur radio club, too.

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.
  • Leave us a voice mail at 888-455-0305 or 417-429-4069. Record an introduction to the podcast and have a chance at winning $25!

Music:

  • "Dead Penguin by 3 Blind Mice from the album "Good Grief"
  • "Sahara" by Lochinvar from the album "Fire Eyes"

LHS Show Notes #037

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Announcements:

  • Texas LinuxFest is Saturday, April 10, 2010 at the Marchesa Event Center in Austin, Texas.
  • OGGCamp will take place at The Black-E in Liverpool on the 1st and 2nd of May.
  • The 2010 Southeast LinuxFest is set for June 12-13 at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC.
  • Due to problems with the existing service provider, the LHS website has moved to lhspodcast.info.
  • iTunes will be okay, but all other RSS feeds will need to update as the content is moved.
  • The new email address is info@lhspodcast.info. Messages will go to both Russ and Richard.
  • The last four episodes are in the RSS feed, but older episodes are unavailable at the moment. They will be there eventually.
  • Russ is working on making all the episodes available via BitTorrent.
  • Look for Richard at Texas Linux Fest on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at the Marchesa Event Center in Austin, Texas.
  • Russ and Richard will be at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention, May 14-16, in booth 265 in the North Hall (NH0265). We hope to see you there!
  • Russ will also be at the SouthEast LinuxFest, June 12-13, 2010, at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC. Richard may be there, too!
  • Peter and Paul, who run hamtests.org, hamtests.net, and hamtests.co.uk are consolidating the websites. Please use hamtests.co.uk for everything. Tell them you heard it here, first.
  • Wayne, aka Azimuth, KB7CFD, reminds us of the Idaho State Convention 2010, April 23rd through 25th, 2010 at the Holiday Inn at Boise Airport, 3300 S. Vista Avenue, Boise, ID.
  • Resonant Frequency is on hiatus.

Feature:

  • Our guest tonight is Stormy Peters, executive director of the GNOME Foundation.
  • By the way, GNOME is pronounced "guh-nome".
  • Stormy discusses the purpose of the foundation, her role in it, and the GNOME project.
  • The Ubuntu 10.04 release will change the default location of the window controls in the "Light" theme.
  • GNOME 3 is expected in September, 2010. New features include the GNOME Shell and the Activity Journal using the Zeitgeist engine. It should be available as a beta test option in Ubuntu 10.04.
  • Stormy and our hosts discuss some of the new features in GNOME 3, scheduled for release in September, 2010.
  • Check out Episode 011 of the Today in Tech Radio podcast for GNOME 3 installation tips.
  • There will be, in GNOME 3, a "dock-like" area on the desktop to receive notifications without changing the focus of your active application.
  • To become involved in the GNOME Project, visit the GNOME Project website. GNOME will also have a presence at the Texas LinuxFest.

Feedback:

  • John, EI7IG, writes about the music in the show, and likes it. He also thinks the show has become too long. Russ responds.
  • We received a donation from Carlie toward the noise gate for Richard. Thanks, Carlie.
  • Gary, KE2YK, gives a glowing review of LHS in his blog KE2YK's Random Oscillations. Thanks, Gary!
  • Gary also writes about CrunchBang Linux and S******x Air.
  • Dave, M0DCM, writes he is a new Ubuntu user. He runs xastir, too. He recently found the podcast and has nearly caught up on all the episodes. He's introduced Linux and LHS to his father and his local radio club, Charlie Delta Amateur Radio Club. Thanks, Dave!
  • Mark, KC4GIA, is a long-time Linux user and expresses his appreciation for the podcast. He recently found WebSDR.org, which is a Software-Defined Radio receiver connected to the Internet, allowing many listeners to listen and tune it simultaneously. He wants to know if there are any Linux programs to allow him to use his Zune. (Look for more on these subjects in the next episode.)
  • MonsterB mentions LHS on monsterb.org. Thanks!
  • Audio feedback from Travis, KD5UND. He's recently switched to S******x Linux. He's also promoted the LHS podcast on his local net, too. Thanks, Travis!

Contests:

  • $100 for the winning Linux in the Ham Shack logo submission.
  • $25 to a random audio introduction to the podcast recorded on one of the phone lines.
  • See the website for more details.

Music: