Microsoft Windows 25 Years

Microsoft Windows turned 25 on November 20th. It has been a good and bad history. It has been a good thing for computers but I have had some "issues" with some of the practises of late that I have already Blog about. Windows has also helped move Ham radio forward with digital communications. So checkout this brief history of Microsoft Windows.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/history

The Flight of BLT-26

These guys did a great job at planning and deploying a balloon "to the Edge of Space". This is a very interesting website detailing what they did. The best part of it is that they included a WRT54GL for HSMM testing. They launched the balloon August 21, 2010. Check it out!


http://www.w5acm.net/b26.html

RADIO-EMAIL PSCM MPG RELEASE NOTICE

This is looking good for Digital Traffic. I have started reading this notice and find it is going in the same direction as we are in Kentucky.

"The Area Staff Chairs of the NTS have approved updates to the ARRL PSCM Appendix B, Methods and Practices Guidelines, Chapter 6, NTSD and Radio-email. These revisions provide for a structure and guidance on how the ARRL Field Organization may use Radio-email to provide nation-wide messaging in the modern email format via Amateur Radio with near real-time delivery anywhere in the country, 24/7. It also provides for integration of the ARES®, NTS and NTSD efforts nation-wide.

The new Radio-email system uses the Winlink 2000 network, infrastructure independent local automatic email service modules, plus station-to-station, radio-all-the-way transport services provided by the NTS/D to support all Sections. The Winlink 2000 network also provides us with a firewall and white list protected interface with the public internet for handling welfare and agency messaging with internet addressees. New types of message formats are included, and guidance on handling ICS-213 and other similar message formats is included."

Please go to the site and read more.

http://wx4j.com/MPG6_NTSD_RADIOEMAIL.htm

Travis County TX ARES Uses HSMM in Their SET

Travis County TX ARES Uses HSMM Mesh in Their SET on November 6, 2010. I like to see this happening in the world of HSMM. I would like to see more of this. Great job to Travis County TX ARES. Here is a write up about it at their site click here.


http://tcares.org/

Linux Software Update

I have been looking at several distros for Linux and I am starting to like what I see. Linux Mint is a nice looking OS as is Xandros. I also looked at Freebsd. These all looked ok but I chose to install Ubuntu 10.10. It was very easy to install and setup. I like the new OS so far but am still playing and tweaking it. I know that in April when they upgrade to Ubuntu 11.04 it will have Unity as the default desktop interface. I have no problem with that as long as it still meets my needs. This has been and will continue to be an interesting project.




http://www.linuxmint.com/
http://www.xandros.com/products/desktop/
http://www.freebsd.org/
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Overo Series Computer-on-Module

This is an interesting item little computer from Gumstix. Could this be a future HSMM computer? Could it have other uses for a mobile system for APRS? Check it out.





http://www.gumstix.com/