LINUX and Ham Software Podcasts
Even though I am a veteran ‘NIX Systems Engineer, I still enjoy messing around with LINUX and have been doing just that since the days when rolling your own kernel” was required. Mixing LINUX and Ham Radio applications together is a place where I like to go to get my hands dirty (like that 55 Chevy I owned a lifetime ago).
Recently, I re-introduced myself to the awesome Linux In The Ham Shack Web site and their outstanding podcasts. Russ k5tux and Richard kb5jbv run LHS (among a number of other sites). How they manage all those sites and find time to create the LHS podcasts is beyond me! I have enough trouble trying to post something new to the blog on a monthly basis. I know, I know, “yeah… you can say that again!”
Richard’s Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) drawl and colorful expressions are a gas to listen to. Richard provides comic relief during the podcasts and Russ is the straight man who takes much fun poking (or is that cow poking) from Richard in stride.
Among the banter and Richard’s unusual expressions (at least they are unique up here in NEW YAWK), the guys do an outstanding job introducing newbies to LINUX. The reason I enjoy listening to their podcasts so much and reading over their show notes is the introduction I receive about the wide array of LINUX variants (varmints as I call them) and numerous Ham Radio apps that are discussed in detail.
Since I am way past the point of basics, I listen up to see what Russ and Richard are going to introduce in each espisode. Recently, through one of their podcasts, I found out about Shackbox written by F0FAK. Shackbox is a work in progress but the quantity of working Ham Radio apps the author has packed into the “AIR” release is truly amazing. How much packing you ask? Well as I remember, the “LIVECD” can only be burned to a DVD because it is about 2.4 Gb in size. I will cover some of the Shackbox details in a future post.
Like other live CD’s or should I say live DVD’s, the contents can optionally be installed on your hard drive. If you want to go that route (which is what I’d recommend), the disk partitioner packed with Shackbox offers an option to co-exist with your Windoze installation. Use caution here and proceed at your own risk!
In any event, if you are interested in LINUX and Ham Radio applications, a visit over to LINUX in the Ham Shack will provide a wealth of information for both the LINUX newbie as well as the verteran interested in the happenings of the open source community.
