Originally scheduled for a 9 PM landing, the last estimate we got (informally, from a friend who works at DSTO), before we turned-in, this morning, put it at around 2 am (Adelaide time).
A report about Global Hawk is on the ABC's Radio National as I write...
It flew about 14,000 km's in about 24 hours...
It's being trialed (with an eye to buying one) for maritime surveillance of Australia's coast line...
e.g. to watch for illegal fishing, drug &/or people smuggling, and -possibly- search & rescue...
It can surveill the coast and/or hover over such targets for over 30 hours.
It may -someday- be equipped for combat.
Oh, by the way... why land in South Australia?
After all, the RAAF base at which it landed is surrounded by well-populated suburbs, et al.
We've got one of the worst economies in Australia and have been targeted for use as a nuclear dumping ground, as well as what (for all we knew) might have been a risky experimental airflight...
Having just last week been told - by a staff-member of the State's land-mapping department - that South Australia has already shut down its 1:10,000 mapping project, due to lack of $'s...
...the thought of Australia paying all this money for one or more machines that -won't- be using its capability in this area to do the work now left -undone- by the State's mapping service (not to mention the apparently -low- level of commitment on the part of this plane's buyers to search & rescue work)... is no happy thought.
Why are countries -so- prepared to spend -millions- to keep a few loads of boat-people and/or drugs out of Australia, while the normal functions of (at least -this-) State gov't - such as map-making - go under funded... I'll never understand...
The Australian dollar remains at an all-time low, making any purchase of pilotless planes even -more- expensive.
Better, I would have thought, to wait for these puppies go into mass-production (such as it might be, for such a large & expensive product)... and buy them at bargain-basement prices...
No... we'd rather "go to the poorhouse" to get this kind of technology into our hot little hands right NOW...
...even as public hospitals' waiting lists go up higher than this plane has flown...;-)
We just heard (yesterday) that the % of South Australian households UNDER the poverty line is way over 20 % today... (it had been closer to 10% about 10 years ago).
The introduction of poker machines (some years back now) has lead to the draining of household money... meaning that even fewer South Australian kids will get the kind of education they need to get into technology in a big way.
Thank God for Open Source technologies... the poor-man's way to learn & (hopefully) get into technology, even for "first world" countries...
Of course, in South Australia, there is risk that one who knows Linux, et al. even VERY well, may be overlooked...
...in favor of somebody else, who was able to pay the $'s for an MSCE, since the South Australia is -still- locked into its "whole-of-enterprise" contract to use -ONLY- Microsoft operating systems.
OK, so we register and start downloading Darwin source... unfortunately, our ISP hangsup every 4 hours...
(I suspect that they get kickbacks our phone company; remember local calls cost in Australia, but I digress...)
Now, most -other- web servers allow us (via Opera 5.02) to reconnect later & Resume the transfer...
But does Apples? Of course not! After downloading 44 MB (during the first 4 hour session), we lose it all - and must conclude that we are unable to d'load the target 129 MB file!
Thank you Apple!!! (not)
Now, if anybody has this file mirrored on an FTP site that permits Resumes... do let us know!
Sad to say, from the looks of the registration process needed to start the download in the first place, it would have to be a warez-style site that does the workaround mirroring...
Of course, Apple -might- be persuaded to rethink its web server [config parameters] to preclude the need for such workarounds, but I would be surprised if they did... pleasantly surprised, of course...
It's easy to see why Australian laws -should- be expected to suck...
The preferencial voting system facilitates (read: requires) a waste of time - used either negotiating or debating (e.g. in the media) the trade-off's of doing this or that "preference" deal with another political party...
The fact that the gov't can decide -when- to hold their next election (i.e. rather than "every 2 (or 4) years") makes similar time-/space-demands on medium.
RESULT: Less time to cover the implications of actual decisions on political issues.
People expend their energies discussing non-content issues like preferential voting alternative and/or when the next election should be held.
Rather than misspell words to sneek them past systems... and stop there... why not -systematically- map them into inert words, get them inside the remote, destination computer & (before displaying the message) map them back to the original non-inert words.
In this modern world of cybertools, who should have to put up with mispelled explicitives, et al.?
Look, I really don't think it helps to blame "management" all the time...
If you want a way to sweep the "management problem" out of the way, there's one in Philip Greenspun's writings (e.g. in Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Design (or the like)... etc.)
In short, it's based on autonomous "Gangs of 5" - each with an area of specialisation; project management changes hands with the project.
In Swedish, the term for Employer is which - to me - looks like "work giver"
For the "Groups of 5" (my term for Greenspun's project teams), the market seemed to be (at the time, at least) favoring the seller of services.
Now that things have changed, maybe it's not as clearly the employer's doing alone...
What I'm saying, however, is that one is free to form such a group & take responsibility for one's (group's) own management issue.
Sales & marketing might be the more challenging, at least in some markets.
Maybe it's -not- that the schools have had the power to tell their students how to dress (most wear costly uniforms) and everybody when they may shop for food... (both taken for "par for the course" in SA... and school-uniforms, I believe, also in the rest of Australia...)
I suppose that "the Stockholm effect" explains the defensive responses (above) to calls for freedoms that Australian &/or SA Gov't(s) do not provide, at least on paper, to their "subjects"... I don't think it would be fair to call them citizens... for that word connotes a place (as a group) -above- their governments...
Chains of Command diagrams that I've seen here (for SA State organisations, at least) position the Minister (of the corresponding gov't dep't at the top, not "The People" as in USA...
-------
Let's not forget that this is the State that signed a long-term whole-of-enterprise agreement to use Microsoft software rather exclusively.
Result: Old non-Microsoft (read: UNIX) servers -don't- get replaced, due to the need (under the contract) to replace their operating systems with NT Server, et al.
-------
The SA Gov't Radio Network... its trunking radios cost about Au $ 2,600 per box (possibly MORE, now that the Aussie $ has sunk in value vs the US $) - handheld or mobile...
The gov't has to pay for [Telstra] by the minute AIR-TIME, i.e. whenever they're used by gov't or emergency service (although instructors of would-be SA-GRN users -teach- their students that there are -no- AIR-TIME costs).
And, it costs Au $ 8.00 per minute when someone uses the the Gov't Radio Network (GRN)'s "telephone interconnect" to make a telephone call...
... on -top- of Au $ 5.00 per month for -EACH- GRN radio that has technical access to the tel. interconnect service.
(That's the same technology as the "autopatches" that US Radio Amateurs build into their VHF/UHF repeaters for COST-FREE local telephone calls for non-commercial purposes).
As an aside, I'd be very interested to know if these are standard contractual costs... and, if not, what other trunking radio system users in the world are charged for the same...
-------
I'm sure that many would have it different... but - as you've seen above - "past is prologue"
If you've -not- had freedom... and you can't work out how to get them... and if curtailing freedoms seems to win votes for unpopular parties...
what do you expect... maybe this helps to explain the youth suicide rates:
Able to see lots more freedoms "over there" + unable to pursuade local "powers that be" to become more responsive + assessing the decisions of those same "powers..." as dull-witted and ineffectual = (suicide).
BTW, on SA Police activities... a friend has told me of a family member who - as a SA Police officer - accesses the Internet on a daily basis.
Where is there information on exactly what such police officers are doing there?
What "offenses" (as breeches of the Law are called here) are being sought by the Internet-based SA Police?
What cases have been moved to prosecution as a result?
What methods were used to collect evidence along the way?
Where is the subject-oversight of this police activity?
At present, this is nothing that gets discussed at "Neighbourhood Watch" meetings...
Maybe it should be... (if you're close to an SA NW area, why not attend your next meeting and let us know what you get back from some good questions about this)
Maybe we need to form a Cyber-Neighbourhood Watch groups in the metro-Adelaide area, to keep our finger on the pulse of policing of our public spaces...
I'd be happy to hear some -knowledgible- SA Police representatives make a presentation about this & related topics, say, at a LinuxSA meeting.
It might be deemed useful as a Recruiting Meeting, from SAPOL's point of view...;-)
As a matter of coincidence, I got an e-mail from the couple (who had hosted a "Thanksgiving in Adelaide" each year for almost 10 years) confirming that they have sold their home and will soon take up residence in - you guessed it! - Perth, WA.
Youth suicide rates are high here (just listen to the police for a few days) - in fairness, also in other Australian states & territories.
(BTW, here's how the Adelaide High School contributes to the suicide rate in the State:
The -FIRST- example on a "STYLE TIPS!" sheet, handed to students in a composition class is:
"Always use the strongest words you can without distoring what actually happended. e.g.:
'A schoolgirl committed suicide at Onkaparinga Bridge yesterday after being teased by her classmates over an untrue rumour.'
becomes...
'A teenage girl lept to her death from Onkaparinga Bridge yesterday after being victimised by her peers over a false rumour!'"
BTW, the Bridge is a well-known, local one.
I guess the logic is: one has to pay the price of a private education by way of insuring against this kind of "programming" - to the extent that one can... i.e. with so many other examples to choose from...)
(As I write this, the ABC's rural-based radio program - "Hay Wire" - presents the voice of a young girl telling the story of her brother's suicide... by a self-directed shotgun blast... why, you'd think it's a part of life around here... maybe it is!)
It's forbidden by SA law for large supermarkets to operate after 7 pm most days of the week
(i.e. the State gov't dictate when people will be permitted to "shop late" for food, etc.)
But - of course - non-supermarket venues - e.g. those with Poker Machines, etc. can stay open very late.
Culturally, there has been a significant decrease in local cultural events (i.e. organised by community groups), since the instroduction of Poker Machines in venues around the State, a few years back.
A "mug mentality" thrives in SA!
SA's Technology Centre has now become a -residential- development area, rather than a hotbed for technology development.
Most bothersome is the noticable -unresponsiveness- of State (not to mention federal) government here on many issues.
Shopping centres in or near Adelaide have empty shops (one I visited just today had 4 -recently- emptied in an area very near its large, well-equipped Coles supermarket).
Religious schools continue to publish -openly- that the successful candidate for publicly advertised non-teaching positions (for example, IT Technician) "must be committed members of a Christian church".
There is no real penalty for this kind of blatant discrimination here!
While schools close and public hospitals are overloaded with patients, often waiting in the corrodors for treatment...
... the unelected, figure-head "governor" (a carry-over from the British colonial period) has a State-funded mansion at the centre of Adelaide, and is deemed to warrant a police-escort when/where-ever he travels...
The Adelaide Club -still- AFAIK will not accept women as members. Discrimination is rife!
The bottom line is... after erring (in past, mostly...) by supporting the taking of indigenous children from their parents, SA's Religious Right is now (apparently) erring in the -other- direction...
Oh, you're not religious? Don't call us! And we won't call you...
1. How much money is actually collected from food makers for Kosher certification services?
2. Does the non-Jewish consumer get sufficient value from the contributions - made by individual Jews and/or Jewish organisations to society (e.g. its culture, medicine, law, science, etc.) - to make paying a little bit more per food item a neglible expense?
It should be possible to get a factual answer to the -first- question, e.g. from food makers, possibly from their annual reports (i.e. if your estimate of the total cost is at all accurate).
I can only answer the -second- question for myself: Definitely, YES! (You milage will vary and obviously has...:-)
My question to you is: Since much -more- $ is spent (invested?) by those same food makers to market, advertise, promote & colourfully label their products - much of this likely to chew up trees & other natural resources to print some of it on... why aren't you "barking" about -that- "extra cost" - as you might view it?
Anyway, I feel that you're harboring hate, and I - for one - don't think you'll win any support from that attribute.
"The only limitations are the ones you take with you" - CSC Sys Sci Div
Imagine somebody, whose legs no longer work for them (e.g. after a car crash or sports injury).
If there is movement (e.g. in hands, et al.)
perhaps the nerve signals that cause them can be put to use to enable such a person to control walking or other more natural movements than are now possible in uncomfortable wheelchairs today (e.g. after lengthy periods in a single posture).
Even if it turns out not to be possible to enable a more natural means for PWD's to get around, perhaps it would help if they could - e.g. by hand movements - cause movements of otherwise disabled legs, et al.
This would facilitate keeping the legs fit
(precluding the need for massage therapy by others and/or amputation, in the worst of cases), until better systems are developed.
Father Murgas preceded Marconi (in NE Pa, USA)
on
100 Years of Radio
·
· Score: 1
Go ask members (and/or the historian of) the Murgas Amateur Radio Club... they used to say that their name-sake (a Catholic priest) was a -very- early radio experimenter, whose work was seen by Marconi while the latter visited the "radio priest" (not quite like his latter-day counterparts, eh...?:-)
All this happened -before- Marconi's own work was reported in the literature.
Worth a look to any historian wanting to set tht record straight on this tidbit of techonology history.
Naturally, "best" has to mean something different at each "level" - e.g. when a person is in, say, junior high school -vs- when s/he is at university or out in Life.
For me, I have fond memories of (then) Geometry teacher Fred Case, last known to be living (retired) in the tiny "town that time forgot" of Noxon, Pa (USA).
Now, geometry can be hard to teach, perhaps because many students find it a bit of a paradigm shift.
This guy used an overhead projector and - more important - a big, genuine smile, not to mention an ability to slowly and carefully work his way around & into each concept as it came up (or as it "rolled across" and into view, on a long "scoll" of -clear- handwritten notes, diagrams, etc.
I'm sure it was his calm, thoughtful presentation that helped to put students at ease as they grappled with the new material, as much as any of the technology that he used to display notes & diagrams.
He -faced- students continuously, sitting next to the projector on a desk, in the same area of the classroom as the rest of us sat (i.e. in "our" side of the teacher's desk).
So, I suppose, that - compared to anyone who stood on the other side of the teacher's desk, e.g. writing on the chalk board, with back to the class - he seemed to be "in our space" but his way of being made him a welcome visitor to that space.
Great seminar speakers seem to have captured some of Fred Case's ways in their bag of tricks.
May more learn from them!
---
Later in Life, I find such people as Cliff Stoll - despite his very different level of energy - to be inspiring.
I'm thinking of his "Snakeoil..." talk, over at Dr Dobbs TechNetCast.com in which he challenges lots that I'd bet slashdot readers hold true...
(Maybe he's just in his Philosopher phase, in the context of a model like the Hindu 4 phases of Life:
1. Learn (to do)
2. Do (e.g. work)
3. Teach (next generation of learners)
4. Write (Philosophy... why did we do it [that way]?)
He's got my vote for wise "old" Elder Statesman of our cybercivilization, in any case...:-)
It wasn't too long ago that the gov't of South Australia signed a "whole-of-enterprise" contract, which - according to those in the know within it - made it a big 'no-no' to implement any -new- servers with a non-Microsoft operating system.
(Maybe that "If you're primary user of any MS application(s) at work, you can install the same at home" clause helped.)
I wonder if the real reason for such contracts lies closer to the potential for big under-the-table 'grants' - to use another word for it - to be made to those few who sign-up for them, on behalf of such governments.
And it's a L-O-N-G contract, too! (In -time-)
I can't understand what MS has to complain about... in South Australia, at least.
On the other hand, those of us who are endeavoring to promote Linux-based OSS systems here... well... let's just say that we're not expecting much (if any) business from State Government any time soon...
SA Gov't readers: Correct me if I'm wrong, please!;-)
Reportedly, reliable non-Microsoft servers that well and truly -needed- to be replaced were kept online years longer than they might otherwise have been, as a result of the requirement to use Microsoft op sys software in any replacement box.
PS Has anybody got any references to officially published -details- of this OSS-unfriendly elephant of a contract? (Preferably, official... but in case all is "under the carpet" then some insider reports might be interesting).
A local rabbi, commenting on his Catholic counterparts, was heard to say something akin to:
When you think about it [at least in past] their best minds don't get to send their genes to the future [since priests, monks & nuns are presumably celebate].
Has anybody researched anything related to this point?
---
At the same time, I give some Catholics credit for archiving bits of knowledge, e.g. during the dark ages, when many were trying to help us to lose it.
On the other hand, I seem to recall that there were lots of times when laymen were kept from reading/debating this faith's basic documents, either by choice of language or other means.
---
About 30 years ago, I enjoyed the cost-free use (including lending rights) of the library at a US-based Catholic university (having never been connected with it in any way).
By contrast, government-funded Australian
universities require members of the public to pay an annual fee before one can borrow "its" books and - after it's paid - they still don't allow access to many online databases (licensed only for student/staff use...).
But then, Australia seems to be getting that way, in recent years.:(
On http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftpsoft.html
we see, among the other items:
"Software for Linux
DOVE (7K)
DOVE-OSCAR-17 telemetry decoding program for Linux. Outputs to screen or text file. Pre-compiled in a.out format. Includes a man page. Written by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD.
KEPGEN (18K)
Simple program to generate 2-line element sets from keyboard input. Pre-compiled in a.out format. Includes a man page. Written by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD.
Microsat Groundstation for Linux (121K)
A complete suite of groundstation software for operation on the Pacsats. Requires Linux with the AX.25 protocol package from Alan Cox, GW4PTW, added to the kernel. Includes source code but no executables. This version has been converted to use the Athena Widgets by Jonathan, G4KLX. The original programs were written by John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT.
PB and PG for Linux (39K)
A complete suite of groundstation software for operation on the Pacsats. Includes features for unattended operation, such as automatic upload and download requests and persistent requests for directory fills. Requires Linux kernel version 2.0.24 or higher and the AX.25 protocol package. Runs in text mode (no X Window System required) under ncurses. Includes source code but no executables. Written by Bent Bagger, OZ6BL, Peter Scott Bentsen, OZ2ABA, and others, based on XPB and XPG by John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT.
PREDICT Version 2.1.1 (264K)
PREDICT is an easy to use, ncurses-based satellite tracking/orbital prediction program developed for the Linux operating system. It allows users to track satellites in earth orbit in real-time, or make orbital predictions in advance of their approach. A unique voice mode allows azimuth and elevation headings of a satellite to be articulated to a ground-based observer through a soundcard in real-time to aid in locating and identifying satellites through optical means. PREDICT also tracks positions of the Sun and Moon, and provides Doppler shift and path loss calculations for analyzing radio communication paths between satellites and earth-based ground stations. PREDICT can export real-time tracking data to client programs using UDP socket-based connections. PREDICT requires ncurses version 4.2 or higher and the Linux pthreads library. PREDICT was written by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD. Further information is available at the PREDICT Home Page.
SatTrack 3.1.5 (558K)
Real-time orbit simulation program with color graphics displays for Unix and Linux systems running X11R5. Controls antennas and radios. Also features a batch mode for prediction of passes over specified ground stations. Includes source code in C. Written by Manfred Bester, W6/DL5KR.
UO11 (11K)
UoSAT-OSCAR-11 telemetry decoding program for Linux. Outputs to screen or text file. Pre-compiled in a.out format. Includes a man page. Written by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD."
--- Also there is:
"Source Code
These files contain source code applicable to a variety of computers. Be sure to also scan the other listings for the word "source", since many of the computer-specific programs come with source code that can be adapted to other computers.
2LIN2KEP (43K)
Converts a file of NASA-format 2-line Keplerian element sets into AMSAT verbose format. Includes BASIC source and an.EXE file for IBM PC. Written by Richard W. L. Limebear, G3RWL.
Selecting Orbits (5K)
BASIC listings associated with the article "Selecting Orbits for Radio Amateur Satellite Missions" by Martin Davidoff, K2UBC. Article appeared in the Proceedings of the 6th AMSAT-UK Colloquium (1991) and in Satellite Operator, February 1995.
N3EMO's Satellite Tracking Program (32K)
Satellite tracking in C by N3EMO.
Moon Tracking (4K)
Prints azimuth and elevation for the Moon at fixed intervals. Source code in BASIC for the IBM PC. Originally written by WB7CCI (now W7GJ). This version by Richard W. L. Limebear, G3RWL. TRACKER is an updated version by the original author (executable form only).
Satellite Education News Tracker (17K)
Command-line tracking program in C. Fixed for Y2K (+bugs) by Paul Williamson, KB5MU.
SatTrack 3.1.5 (558K)
Real-time orbit simulation program with color graphics displays for Unix and Linux systems running X11R5. Controls antennas and radios. Also features a batch mode for prediction of passes over specified ground stations. Includes source code in C. Written by Manfred Bester, W6/DL5KR.
PREDICT Version 2.1.1 (264K)
PREDICT is an easy to use, ncurses-based satellite tracking/orbital prediction program developed for the Linux operating system. It allows users to track satellites in earth orbit in real-time, or make orbital predictions in advance of their approach. A unique voice mode allows azimuth and elevation headings of a satellite to be articulated to a ground-based observer through a soundcard in real-time to aid in locating and identifying satellites through optical means. PREDICT also tracks positions of the Sun and Moon, and provides Doppler shift and path loss calculations for analyzing radio communication paths between satellites and earth-based ground stations. PREDICT can export real-time tracking data to client programs using UDP socket-based connections. PREDICT requires ncurses version 4.2 or higher and the Linux pthreads library. PREDICT was written by John A. Magliacane, D2BD. Further information is available at the PREDICT Home Page.
STP: Simple Tracking Program (137K)
Simple tracking program run from the command line. Computes AOS/LOS tables, tables or realtime text displays of satellites, the Sun, and the Moon, and reads NASA format Keplerian element files. Includes source code in C for PC or UNIX. See also these additional files (52K). Written by Christie Harper, KD4QIO.
Caution: this program has problems with Year 2000 dates, and the author no longer provides support.
Microsat Groundstation for Linux (121K)
A complete suite of groundstation software for operation on the Pacsats. Requires Linux with the AX.25 protocol package from Alan Cox, GW4PTW, added to the kernel. Includes source code but no executables. This version has been converted to use the Athena Widgets by Jonathan,
G4KLX. The original programs were written by John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT.
PB and PG for Linux (41K)
A complete suite of groundstation software for operation on the Pacsats. Includes features for unattended operation, such as automatic upload and download requests and persistent requests for directory fills. Requires Linux kernel version 2.0.24 or higher and the AX.25 protocol package. Runs in text mode (no X Window System required) under ncurses. Includes source code but no executables. Written by Bent Bagger, OZ6BL, Peter Scott Bentsen, OZ2ABA, and others, based on XPB and XPG by John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT.
WPRAIRIE 2.1 (166K)
Station control program for use with WinOrbit 2.2 or later on Windows 3.1 or 95 (but not Windows NT). Controls rotors through a Prairie Digital board or a custom serial port controller. Tunes radios (FT-736R, Kenwood, up/down buttons) through
serial or parallel ports or the Prairie Digital board. Receives information from WinOrbit via DDE. Alpha test software, with Visual BASIC source code included. Written by Carl Gregory, K8CG.
See also PLAN-13 from the collection of articles by G3RUH. It includes source code in BASIC, with lots of explanation."
---
By the way, for those who ask (in essence): Why bother with amateur satelites?
I'd just like to suggest that it's no different than the Open Source movement, in one way:
It's a good way for people with genuine interest to get into the field by getting their hands dirty and trying to make contributions.
What better way to learn about just about anything, i.e. besides building one and/or working with it?
Still not convinced? So, go ask Linus why he built/worked with Linux 0.x;)
Problem: I can't get all I want on one disto CD-ROM, e.g. because the publisher has to stay within the various (incompatible) licensing terms of the software that could (otherwise) be included on the one CD-ROM.
Follow-on problem: The would-become-a-user-of-Open-Source-systems buyer has to work lots harder to get a simply installed ("works well after just a bit of configuration") desktop system, i.e. with StarOffice, Midnight Commander, et al. "right out of the box"
The real problem: That would-be user stays away from Open Source pastures...
Folks, say what you will about the proprietary licenses... they at least let third party distributors buy up the less popular stuff (i.e. make deals that let it get distributed as a "bundle") that can be installed in one fell swoop.
The difference: Money is paid (to license holders, to allow the bundling of their software) rather than "sweat equity" (i.e. on the part of the would-be users, trying to find / download / install, etc. all the bits required to make an integrated desktop system workable...
A solution: Let's get as many of the producers (or license holders) of Open Source Software to re-license it under as many licenses as possible, so that would-be distributors can (without breeching any license) bundle up a collection of software for delivery to that part of the would-be user world...
If Linux, et al. ever experience a "slump in sales" maybe that would be a good time to campaign for such re-licensing.
Of course, in the mean time, if people who normally spend some of their time -refining- their choice of license would try to survey the needs/wants of other licenses' proponents, by way of trying to incorporate as many of these needed/wanted terms as possible... just maybe... there could be a bit more compatibility, in future, between the Open Source software licensing
...and less hassles about "intermarrying" Open Source Software of different "ethnic / religious" (licensing) backgrounds...;)
The Australian Communications Authority (our FCC, but with offices that look more like those of exclusive advertising agencies... I'm not kidding!) has - in law the requirement to publish its license/frequency database.
Apparently, that wasn't such a popular law (from the gov'ts point of view).
The way it got implemented was like this:
If the number of hits on a search exceeded a threshhold - WHAMMO! - you don't get the chance to view your hits by pages of 25 each...
...you get NOTHING!
That's right... you don't get to see -any- of the hits at all.
'protecting large corporations from scrutiny by the public sound familiar...?
For some reason, we're having lots of trouble downloading it (and we're -not- using Telstra' Big Pond... whose cable recently got cut...;) from the site it started out at.
Can someone nominate a mirror (preferably even in Australia) where we can get the.PDF draft report?
This article is a piece of propoganda trying to protect ABC's budget. Much as I hate the idea of state funded broadcasting, the BBC is so damned good that I happily pay my licence fee.
What do ozzies think of their state media?
I, for one, would like to feel that a gov't sponsored media outlet that reports & preserves news of events & speeches of people of the day should be unbiased.
A few examples illustrates some of the disappointments that I, for one, have experienced:
1. Web site cuts "embarrassing tales" of Stolen Generation (Indigenous Children taken from their parents under gov't orders):
Not long before the start of the Olympics, Australia's SBS (the publicly & ad -sponsored) multicultural TV channel broadcast most of the indigenous reconciliation event, known as "Corroboree 2000" - including a very impressive talk by aboriginal activist Mick Dodson, as well as the Prime Minister's words.
Each was -broadcast- live & (apparently) in full during the event.
Later, however, SBS's web site was noted to include just one short segment of a few words by the former speaker, but at least 4 longer segments from the PM's talk (the original talks were of about the same length, I believe).
The effect was to leave out well-put tellings of historical comparisons that would be good to have told (to audiences beyond that which could have watched the Corroboree 2000 broadcast in Australia)
SBS has since been contacted for leads to -either- a (future) re-broadcast of the Dodson speech -or- a video of the same.
Nothing was forthcoming, nor was there any explanation to be had for the cutting of his speech down to a sentence or two on the SBS web site.
2. ABC's "Australia All Over" talk-host retained after playing racist, hate-inciting song:
No "Media Watch" presenter ever mentioned - let alone criticized - ABC's own Radio National presenter "Macca" (host of the popular "Australia All Over" program), when he played a racist, hate-inspiring song that called for a white uprising to kill off "those men without shoes" (in 1998)... played -immediately- after a live interview with an aboriginal man working in South Australia.
3. No ABC or other media was interested in the recent abusive "denial-of-service" response made by police at an inner-Adelaide (South Australia) police station, that moved a young aboriginal woman to tears & talk of taking her own life, after she tried to report to police details of a physical assault that left her bleeding from several places.
I happened to hear & see both of these, folks,... live and in colour; filed a complaint about each... and got a letter back from each of the organisations responsible.
No more than counseling of the erring employees was deemed necessary, in each case.
In the case of the police officer, only a form letter was received, after an "informal" handling of the matter...
What did the news (quite rightly, I agree) were stories of commercial talk-show hosts' secret PR-for-$'s contracts (e.g. in which radio personalities give air-time to interviews with (banking, communications, etc.) business proponents and/or aired views positive to the companies or business interests on controvertial matters, in exchange for big bucks).
With threats to ABC & other gov't media institutions, I would suggest that any insider(s) with stories to tell that would tend to taint their organisations' reputations... -isn't- going to come forward to blow the whistle.
Like other government bodies, all is behind closed doors.
PS An unpublished CD has been made of the ABC Radio National segment with the racist, hate-insiting song (and the preceding interview, for context), should anybody in an Aussie "Media Watch" group be interested in hearing it for some positive purpose.
BTW I understand that, in USA, any complaints filed with a broadcaster are to be held in a PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE file (albeit at the broadcaster's offices) and made available to regulators (FCC).
Is this still so? Has any change of medium occured (e.g. requiring such complaints to be transcribed or even logged on the broadcaster's and/or the FCC's Internet web site(s)?)
Whatever happened to Thoreau's Civil Disobedience?
OK, if you have property and lots of nice things, it isn't going to be easy to put all this stuff into jeopardy...
But - surely! - somebody with enough computer expertise to do the benchmarks
...and nothing to lose (e.g. because all of his/her gear is in a spouse's name... or owned by some untouchable trust... you get the idea)
...will eventually come along and write such a report as most of you fear to write/publish
...and will place it on some great off-shore web server, e.g. along with all those illicit copies of popular but expensive books and/or software.
Ideally, of course, someone will win a legal arguement that it's in the public interest to know the answers to questions that arise (and get answered) in benchmark reports
...or that the rights of an individual to create/publish such a report are greater than the rights of any corporation to supress it.
This wouldn't be the first time that somebody challenged some content's right to exist...
Where -else- is this content to be found?
...or, if necessary:
Is it available to buy, somewhere else?
BTW, if it's as useful as an early poster suggested, maybe it's worth rewarding its creators?)
Bike with Mac, UNIX, Win + Ham Radio, et al.
on
The Ultimate Bike
·
· Score: 1
Help me with this one, gang:
A few years ago (probably in an issue of QST magazine), there was an article - with photo's - of a bike + trailer that hauled lotsa computers, radios, solar cells, batteries, GPS-gear & cel.tel's.
I think the designer/rider would come to your event for a cool US$ 5,000 for a show-and-tell, and the events were anything from trade-shows to science exhibits or the like.
It's been so long that I've forgotten its name and URL. Anybody got it coming back to mind?
Slashdot Mirror
Originally scheduled for a 9 PM landing, the last estimate we got (informally, from a friend who works at DSTO), before we turned-in, this morning, put it at around 2 am (Adelaide time).
A report about Global Hawk is on the ABC's Radio National as I write...
It flew about 14,000 km's in about 24 hours...
It's being trialed (with an eye to buying one) for maritime surveillance of Australia's coast line...
e.g. to watch for illegal fishing, drug &/or people smuggling, and -possibly- search & rescue...
It can surveill the coast and/or hover over such targets for over 30 hours.
It may -someday- be equipped for combat.
Oh, by the way... why land in South Australia? After all, the RAAF base at which it landed is surrounded by well-populated suburbs, et al.
We've got one of the worst economies in Australia and have been targeted for use as a nuclear dumping ground, as well as what (for all we knew) might have been a risky experimental airflight...
Having just last week been told - by a staff-member of the State's land-mapping department - that South Australia has already shut down its 1:10,000 mapping project, due to lack of $'s...
...the thought of Australia paying all this money for one or more machines that -won't- be using its capability in this area to do the work now left -undone- by the State's mapping service (not to mention the apparently -low- level of commitment on the part of this plane's buyers to search & rescue work)... is no happy thought.
Why are countries -so- prepared to spend -millions- to keep a few loads of boat-people and/or drugs out of Australia, while the normal functions of (at least -this-) State gov't - such as map-making - go under funded... I'll never understand...
The Australian dollar remains at an all-time low, making any purchase of pilotless planes even -more- expensive.
Better, I would have thought, to wait for these puppies go into mass-production (such as it might be, for such a large & expensive product)... and buy them at bargain-basement prices...
No... we'd rather "go to the poorhouse" to get this kind of technology into our hot little hands right NOW...
...even as public hospitals' waiting lists go up higher than this plane has flown... ;-)
We just heard (yesterday) that the % of South Australian households UNDER the poverty line is way over 20 % today... (it had been closer to 10% about 10 years ago).
The introduction of poker machines (some years back now) has lead to the draining of household money... meaning that even fewer South Australian kids will get the kind of education they need to get into technology in a big way.
Thank God for Open Source technologies... the poor-man's way to learn & (hopefully) get into technology, even for "first world" countries...
Of course, in South Australia, there is risk that one who knows Linux, et al. even VERY well, may be overlooked...
...in favor of somebody else, who was able to pay the $'s for an MSCE, since the South Australia is -still- locked into its "whole-of-enterprise" contract to use -ONLY- Microsoft operating systems.
Progress... go figure!
(Uplink 145.99, Downlink 145.8 MHz)
...by sending "CQ v NOCALL" - when ISS is overhead - while listening on the downlink for other stations.
(I suspect that they get kickbacks our phone company; remember local calls cost in Australia, but I digress...)
Now, most -other- web servers allow us (via Opera 5.02) to reconnect later & Resume the transfer...
But does Apples? Of course not! After downloading 44 MB (during the first 4 hour session), we lose it all - and must conclude that we are unable to d'load the target 129 MB file!
Thank you Apple!!! (not)
Now, if anybody has this file mirrored on an FTP site that permits Resumes... do let us know!
Sad to say, from the looks of the registration process needed to start the download in the first place, it would have to be a warez-style site that does the workaround mirroring...
Of course, Apple -might- be persuaded to rethink its web server [config parameters] to preclude the need for such workarounds, but I would be surprised if they did... pleasantly surprised, of course...
Apple, are you listening? So, surprise us! ;-)
The preferencial voting system facilitates (read: requires) a waste of time - used either negotiating or debating (e.g. in the media) the trade-off's of doing this or that "preference" deal with another political party...
The fact that the gov't can decide -when- to hold their next election (i.e. rather than "every 2 (or 4) years") makes similar time-/space-demands on medium.
RESULT: Less time to cover the implications of actual decisions on political issues.
People expend their energies discussing non-content issues like preferential voting alternative and/or when the next election should be held.
In this modern world of cybertools, who should have to put up with mispelled explicitives, et al.?
The solution exists and is... too easy! ;-)
If -I- had kids in school, I'd much prefer that the software used be a bit more release-ready than the word Beta seems to imply...
Releasing too early can easily scare 'em away from something good IMO.
Just my 2 centavos worth... ;-)
If you want a way to sweep the "management problem" out of the way, there's one in Philip Greenspun's writings (e.g. in Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Design (or the like)... etc.)
In short, it's based on autonomous "Gangs of 5" - each with an area of specialisation; project management changes hands with the project.
In Swedish, the term for Employer is which - to me - looks like "work giver"
For the "Groups of 5" (my term for Greenspun's project teams), the market seemed to be (at the time, at least) favoring the seller of services.
Now that things have changed, maybe it's not as clearly the employer's doing alone...
What I'm saying, however, is that one is free to form such a group & take responsibility for one's (group's) own management issue.
Sales & marketing might be the more challenging, at least in some markets.
I suppose that "the Stockholm effect" explains the defensive responses (above) to calls for freedoms that Australian &/or SA Gov't(s) do not provide, at least on paper, to their "subjects"... I don't think it would be fair to call them citizens... for that word connotes a place (as a group) -above- their governments...
Chains of Command diagrams that I've seen here (for SA State organisations, at least) position the Minister (of the corresponding gov't dep't at the top, not "The People" as in USA...
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Let's not forget that this is the State that signed a long-term whole-of-enterprise agreement to use Microsoft software rather exclusively.
Result: Old non-Microsoft (read: UNIX) servers -don't- get replaced, due to the need (under the contract) to replace their operating systems with NT Server, et al.
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The SA Gov't Radio Network... its trunking radios cost about Au $ 2,600 per box (possibly MORE, now that the Aussie $ has sunk in value vs the US $) - handheld or mobile...
The gov't has to pay for [Telstra] by the minute AIR-TIME, i.e. whenever they're used by gov't or emergency service (although instructors of would-be SA-GRN users -teach- their students that there are -no- AIR-TIME costs).
And, it costs Au $ 8.00 per minute when someone uses the the Gov't Radio Network (GRN)'s "telephone interconnect" to make a telephone call...
... on -top- of Au $ 5.00 per month for -EACH- GRN radio that has technical access to the tel. interconnect service.
(That's the same technology as the "autopatches" that US Radio Amateurs build into their VHF/UHF repeaters for COST-FREE local telephone calls for non-commercial purposes).
As an aside, I'd be very interested to know if these are standard contractual costs... and, if not, what other trunking radio system users in the world are charged for the same...
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I'm sure that many would have it different... but - as you've seen above - "past is prologue"
If you've -not- had freedom... and you can't work out how to get them... and if curtailing freedoms seems to win votes for unpopular parties...
what do you expect... maybe this helps to explain the youth suicide rates:
Able to see lots more freedoms "over there" + unable to pursuade local "powers that be" to become more responsive + assessing the decisions of those same "powers..." as dull-witted and ineffectual = (suicide).
BTW, on SA Police activities... a friend has told me of a family member who - as a SA Police officer - accesses the Internet on a daily basis.
Where is there information on exactly what such police officers are doing there?
What "offenses" (as breeches of the Law are called here) are being sought by the Internet-based SA Police?
What cases have been moved to prosecution as a result?
What methods were used to collect evidence along the way?
Where is the subject-oversight of this police activity?
At present, this is nothing that gets discussed at "Neighbourhood Watch" meetings...
Maybe it should be... (if you're close to an SA NW area, why not attend your next meeting and let us know what you get back from some good questions about this)
Maybe we need to form a Cyber-Neighbourhood Watch groups in the metro-Adelaide area, to keep our finger on the pulse of policing of our public spaces...
I'd be happy to hear some -knowledgible- SA Police representatives make a presentation about this & related topics, say, at a LinuxSA meeting.
It might be deemed useful as a Recruiting Meeting, from SAPOL's point of view... ;-)
What'cha think...?
Youth suicide rates are high here (just listen to the police for a few days) - in fairness, also in other Australian states & territories.
(BTW, here's how the Adelaide High School contributes to the suicide rate in the State:
The -FIRST- example on a "STYLE TIPS!" sheet, handed to students in a composition class is:
"Always use the strongest words you can without distoring what actually happended. e.g.:
'A schoolgirl committed suicide at Onkaparinga Bridge yesterday after being teased by her classmates over an untrue rumour.'
becomes...
'A teenage girl lept to her death from Onkaparinga Bridge yesterday after being victimised by her peers over a false rumour!'"
BTW, the Bridge is a well-known, local one.
I guess the logic is: one has to pay the price of a private education by way of insuring against this kind of "programming" - to the extent that one can... i.e. with so many other examples to choose from...)
(As I write this, the ABC's rural-based radio program - "Hay Wire" - presents the voice of a young girl telling the story of her brother's suicide... by a self-directed shotgun blast... why, you'd think it's a part of life around here... maybe it is!)
It's forbidden by SA law for large supermarkets to operate after 7 pm most days of the week
(i.e. the State gov't dictate when people will be permitted to "shop late" for food, etc.)
But - of course - non-supermarket venues - e.g. those with Poker Machines, etc. can stay open very late.
Culturally, there has been a significant decrease in local cultural events (i.e. organised by community groups), since the instroduction of Poker Machines in venues around the State, a few years back.
A "mug mentality" thrives in SA!
SA's Technology Centre has now become a -residential- development area, rather than a hotbed for technology development.
Most bothersome is the noticable -unresponsiveness- of State (not to mention federal) government here on many issues.
Shopping centres in or near Adelaide have empty shops (one I visited just today had 4 -recently- emptied in an area very near its large, well-equipped Coles supermarket).
Religious schools continue to publish -openly- that the successful candidate for publicly advertised non-teaching positions (for example, IT Technician) "must be committed members of a Christian church".
There is no real penalty for this kind of blatant discrimination here!
While schools close and public hospitals are overloaded with patients, often waiting in the corrodors for treatment...
... the unelected, figure-head "governor" (a carry-over from the British colonial period) has a State-funded mansion at the centre of Adelaide, and is deemed to warrant a police-escort when/where-ever he travels...
The Adelaide Club -still- AFAIK will not accept women as members. Discrimination is rife!
The bottom line is... after erring (in past, mostly...) by supporting the taking of indigenous children from their parents, SA's Religious Right is now (apparently) erring in the -other- direction...
Oh, you're not religious? Don't call us! And we won't call you...
Go figure... ;-)
Maybe we can let the UN control that chunk of the Universe...
On the other hand, one -can- reasonably ask:
1. How much money is actually collected from food makers for Kosher certification services?
2. Does the non-Jewish consumer get sufficient value from the contributions - made by individual Jews and/or Jewish organisations to society (e.g. its culture, medicine, law, science, etc.) - to make paying a little bit more per food item a neglible expense?
It should be possible to get a factual answer to the -first- question, e.g. from food makers, possibly from their annual reports (i.e. if your estimate of the total cost is at all accurate).
I can only answer the -second- question for myself: Definitely, YES! (You milage will vary and obviously has... :-)
My question to you is: Since much -more- $ is spent (invested?) by those same food makers to market, advertise, promote & colourfully label their products - much of this likely to chew up trees & other natural resources to print some of it on... why aren't you "barking" about -that- "extra cost" - as you might view it?
Anyway, I feel that you're harboring hate, and I - for one - don't think you'll win any support from that attribute.
"The only limitations are the ones you take with you" - CSC Sys Sci Div
I'd say: Hate is a limitation... leave it behind.
But you can decide for yourself... ;-)
If there is movement (e.g. in hands, et al.) perhaps the nerve signals that cause them can be put to use to enable such a person to control walking or other more natural movements than are now possible in uncomfortable wheelchairs today (e.g. after lengthy periods in a single posture).
Even if it turns out not to be possible to enable a more natural means for PWD's to get around, perhaps it would help if they could - e.g. by hand movements - cause movements of otherwise disabled legs, et al.
This would facilitate keeping the legs fit (precluding the need for massage therapy by others and/or amputation, in the worst of cases), until better systems are developed.
All this happened -before- Marconi's own work was reported in the literature.
Worth a look to any historian wanting to set tht record straight on this tidbit of techonology history.
Do we have a radio historian in the audience...?
For me, I have fond memories of (then) Geometry teacher Fred Case, last known to be living (retired) in the tiny "town that time forgot" of Noxon, Pa (USA).
Now, geometry can be hard to teach, perhaps because many students find it a bit of a paradigm shift.
This guy used an overhead projector and - more important - a big, genuine smile, not to mention an ability to slowly and carefully work his way around & into each concept as it came up (or as it "rolled across" and into view, on a long "scoll" of -clear- handwritten notes, diagrams, etc.
I'm sure it was his calm, thoughtful presentation that helped to put students at ease as they grappled with the new material, as much as any of the technology that he used to display notes & diagrams.
He -faced- students continuously, sitting next to the projector on a desk, in the same area of the classroom as the rest of us sat (i.e. in "our" side of the teacher's desk).
So, I suppose, that - compared to anyone who stood on the other side of the teacher's desk, e.g. writing on the chalk board, with back to the class - he seemed to be "in our space" but his way of being made him a welcome visitor to that space.
Great seminar speakers seem to have captured some of Fred Case's ways in their bag of tricks.
May more learn from them!
---
Later in Life, I find such people as Cliff Stoll - despite his very different level of energy - to be inspiring.
I'm thinking of his "Snakeoil..." talk, over at Dr Dobbs TechNetCast.com in which he challenges lots that I'd bet slashdot readers hold true...
(Maybe he's just in his Philosopher phase, in the context of a model like the Hindu 4 phases of Life:
1. Learn (to do)
2. Do (e.g. work)
3. Teach (next generation of learners)
4. Write (Philosophy... why did we do it [that way]?)
He's got my vote for wise "old" Elder Statesman of our cybercivilization, in any case... :-)
A good Ask SlashDot question!
(Maybe that "If you're primary user of any MS application(s) at work, you can install the same at home" clause helped.)
I wonder if the real reason for such contracts lies closer to the potential for big under-the-table 'grants' - to use another word for it - to be made to those few who sign-up for them, on behalf of such governments.
And it's a L-O-N-G contract, too! (In -time-)
I can't understand what MS has to complain about... in South Australia, at least.
On the other hand, those of us who are endeavoring to promote Linux-based OSS systems here... well... let's just say that we're not expecting much (if any) business from State Government any time soon...
SA Gov't readers: Correct me if I'm wrong, please! ;-)
Reportedly, reliable non-Microsoft servers that well and truly -needed- to be replaced were kept online years longer than they might otherwise have been, as a result of the requirement to use Microsoft op sys software in any replacement box.
PS Has anybody got any references to officially published -details- of this OSS-unfriendly elephant of a contract? (Preferably, official... but in case all is "under the carpet" then some insider reports might be interesting).
A local rabbi, commenting on his Catholic counterparts, was heard to say something akin to:
When you think about it [at least in past] their best minds don't get to send their genes to the future [since priests, monks & nuns are presumably celebate].
Has anybody researched anything related to this point?
---
At the same time, I give some Catholics credit for archiving bits of knowledge, e.g. during the dark ages, when many were trying to help us to lose it.
On the other hand, I seem to recall that there were lots of times when laymen were kept from reading/debating this faith's basic documents, either by choice of language or other means.
---
About 30 years ago, I enjoyed the cost-free use (including lending rights) of the library at a US-based Catholic university (having never been connected with it in any way).
By contrast, government-funded Australian universities require members of the public to pay an annual fee before one can borrow "its" books and - after it's paid - they still don't allow access to many online databases (licensed only for student/staff use...).
But then, Australia seems to be getting that way, in recent years. :(
DOVE (7K)
DOVE-OSCAR-17 telemetry decoding program for Linux. Outputs to screen or text file. Pre-compiled in a.out format. Includes a man page. Written by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD.
KEPGEN (18K)
Simple program to generate 2-line element sets from keyboard input. Pre-compiled in a.out format. Includes a man page. Written by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD.
Microsat Groundstation for Linux (121K)
A complete suite of groundstation software for operation on the Pacsats. Requires Linux with the AX.25 protocol package from Alan Cox, GW4PTW, added to the kernel. Includes source code but no executables. This version has been converted to use the Athena Widgets by Jonathan, G4KLX. The original programs were written by John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT.
PB and PG for Linux (39K)
A complete suite of groundstation software for operation on the Pacsats. Includes features for unattended operation, such as automatic upload and download requests and persistent requests for directory fills. Requires Linux kernel version 2.0.24 or higher and the AX.25 protocol package. Runs in text mode (no X Window System required) under ncurses. Includes source code but no executables. Written by Bent Bagger, OZ6BL, Peter Scott Bentsen, OZ2ABA, and others, based on XPB and XPG by John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT.
PREDICT Version 2.1.1 (264K)
PREDICT is an easy to use, ncurses-based satellite tracking/orbital prediction program developed for the Linux operating system. It allows users to track satellites in earth orbit in real-time, or make orbital predictions in advance of their approach. A unique voice mode allows azimuth and elevation headings of a satellite to be articulated to a ground-based observer through a soundcard in real-time to aid in locating and identifying satellites through optical means. PREDICT also tracks positions of the Sun and Moon, and provides Doppler shift and path loss calculations for analyzing radio communication paths between satellites and earth-based ground stations. PREDICT can export real-time tracking data to client programs using UDP socket-based connections. PREDICT requires ncurses version 4.2 or higher and the Linux pthreads library. PREDICT was written by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD. Further information is available at the PREDICT Home Page.
SatTrack 3.1.5 (558K)
Real-time orbit simulation program with color graphics displays for Unix and Linux systems running X11R5. Controls antennas and radios. Also features a batch mode for prediction of passes over specified ground stations. Includes source code in C. Written by Manfred Bester, W6/DL5KR.
UO11 (11K)
UoSAT-OSCAR-11 telemetry decoding program for Linux. Outputs to screen or text file. Pre-compiled in a.out format. Includes a man page. Written by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD."
--- Also there is: "Source Code
These files contain source code applicable to a variety of computers. Be sure to also scan the other listings for the word "source", since many of the computer-specific programs come with source code that can be adapted to other computers.
2LIN2KEP (43K)
Converts a file of NASA-format 2-line Keplerian element sets into AMSAT verbose format. Includes BASIC source and an .EXE file for IBM PC. Written by Richard W. L. Limebear, G3RWL.
Selecting Orbits (5K)
BASIC listings associated with the article "Selecting Orbits for Radio Amateur Satellite Missions" by Martin Davidoff, K2UBC. Article appeared in the Proceedings of the 6th AMSAT-UK Colloquium (1991) and in Satellite Operator, February 1995.
N3EMO's Satellite Tracking Program (32K)
Satellite tracking in C by N3EMO.
Moon Tracking (4K)
Prints azimuth and elevation for the Moon at fixed intervals. Source code in BASIC for the IBM PC. Originally written by WB7CCI (now W7GJ). This version by Richard W. L. Limebear, G3RWL. TRACKER is an updated version by the original author (executable form only).
Satellite Education News Tracker (17K)
Command-line tracking program in C. Fixed for Y2K (+bugs) by Paul Williamson, KB5MU.
SatTrack 3.1.5 (558K)
Real-time orbit simulation program with color graphics displays for Unix and Linux systems running X11R5. Controls antennas and radios. Also features a batch mode for prediction of passes over specified ground stations. Includes source code in C. Written by Manfred Bester, W6/DL5KR.
PREDICT Version 2.1.1 (264K)
PREDICT is an easy to use, ncurses-based satellite tracking/orbital prediction program developed for the Linux operating system. It allows users to track satellites in earth orbit in real-time, or make orbital predictions in advance of their approach. A unique voice mode allows azimuth and elevation headings of a satellite to be articulated to a ground-based observer through a soundcard in real-time to aid in locating and identifying satellites through optical means. PREDICT also tracks positions of the Sun and Moon, and provides Doppler shift and path loss calculations for analyzing radio communication paths between satellites and earth-based ground stations. PREDICT can export real-time tracking data to client programs using UDP socket-based connections. PREDICT requires ncurses version 4.2 or higher and the Linux pthreads library. PREDICT was written by John A. Magliacane, D2BD. Further information is available at the PREDICT Home Page.
STP: Simple Tracking Program (137K)
Simple tracking program run from the command line. Computes AOS/LOS tables, tables or realtime text displays of satellites, the Sun, and the Moon, and reads NASA format Keplerian element files. Includes source code in C for PC or UNIX. See also these additional files (52K). Written by Christie Harper, KD4QIO.
Caution: this program has problems with Year 2000 dates, and the author no longer provides support.
Microsat Groundstation for Linux (121K)
A complete suite of groundstation software for operation on the Pacsats. Requires Linux with the AX.25 protocol package from Alan Cox, GW4PTW, added to the kernel. Includes source code but no executables. This version has been converted to use the Athena Widgets by Jonathan, G4KLX. The original programs were written by John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT.
PB and PG for Linux (41K)
A complete suite of groundstation software for operation on the Pacsats. Includes features for unattended operation, such as automatic upload and download requests and persistent requests for directory fills. Requires Linux kernel version 2.0.24 or higher and the AX.25 protocol package. Runs in text mode (no X Window System required) under ncurses. Includes source code but no executables. Written by Bent Bagger, OZ6BL, Peter Scott Bentsen, OZ2ABA, and others, based on XPB and XPG by John Melton, G0ORX/N6LYT.
WPRAIRIE 2.1 (166K)
Station control program for use with WinOrbit 2.2 or later on Windows 3.1 or 95 (but not Windows NT). Controls rotors through a Prairie Digital board or a custom serial port controller. Tunes radios (FT-736R, Kenwood, up/down buttons) through serial or parallel ports or the Prairie Digital board. Receives information from WinOrbit via DDE. Alpha test software, with Visual BASIC source code included. Written by Carl Gregory, K8CG. See also PLAN-13 from the collection of articles by G3RUH. It includes source code in BASIC, with lots of explanation."
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By the way, for those who ask (in essence): Why bother with amateur satelites?
I'd just like to suggest that it's no different than the Open Source movement, in one way:
It's a good way for people with genuine interest to get into the field by getting their hands dirty and trying to make contributions.
What better way to learn about just about anything, i.e. besides building one and/or working with it?
Still not convinced? So, go ask Linus why he built/worked with Linux 0.x ;)
Follow-on problem: The would-become-a-user-of-Open-Source-systems buyer has to work lots harder to get a simply installed ("works well after just a bit of configuration") desktop system, i.e. with StarOffice, Midnight Commander, et al. "right out of the box"
The real problem: That would-be user stays away from Open Source pastures...
Folks, say what you will about the proprietary licenses... they at least let third party distributors buy up the less popular stuff (i.e. make deals that let it get distributed as a "bundle") that can be installed in one fell swoop.
The difference: Money is paid (to license holders, to allow the bundling of their software) rather than "sweat equity" (i.e. on the part of the would-be users, trying to find / download / install, etc. all the bits required to make an integrated desktop system workable...
A solution: Let's get as many of the producers (or license holders) of Open Source Software to re-license it under as many licenses as possible, so that would-be distributors can (without breeching any license) bundle up a collection of software for delivery to that part of the would-be user world...
If Linux, et al. ever experience a "slump in sales" maybe that would be a good time to campaign for such re-licensing.
Of course, in the mean time, if people who normally spend some of their time -refining- their choice of license would try to survey the needs/wants of other licenses' proponents, by way of trying to incorporate as many of these needed/wanted terms as possible... just maybe... there could be a bit more compatibility, in future, between the Open Source software licensing
...and less hassles about "intermarrying" Open Source Software of different "ethnic / religious" (licensing) backgrounds... ;)
Apparently, that wasn't such a popular law (from the gov'ts point of view).
The way it got implemented was like this:
If the number of hits on a search exceeded a threshhold - WHAMMO! - you don't get the chance to view your hits by pages of 25 each...
...you get NOTHING!
That's right... you don't get to see -any- of the hits at all.
'protecting large corporations from scrutiny by the public sound familiar...?
Enjoy!
Can someone nominate a mirror (preferably even in Australia) where we can get the .PDF draft report?
TIA
What do ozzies think of their state media?
I, for one, would like to feel that a gov't sponsored media outlet that reports & preserves news of events & speeches of people of the day should be unbiased.
A few examples illustrates some of the disappointments that I, for one, have experienced:
1. Web site cuts "embarrassing tales" of Stolen Generation (Indigenous Children taken from their parents under gov't orders):
Not long before the start of the Olympics, Australia's SBS (the publicly & ad -sponsored) multicultural TV channel broadcast most of the indigenous reconciliation event, known as "Corroboree 2000" - including a very impressive talk by aboriginal activist Mick Dodson, as well as the Prime Minister's words.
Each was -broadcast- live & (apparently) in full during the event.
Later, however, SBS's web site was noted to include just one short segment of a few words by the former speaker, but at least 4 longer segments from the PM's talk (the original talks were of about the same length, I believe).
The effect was to leave out well-put tellings of historical comparisons that would be good to have told (to audiences beyond that which could have watched the Corroboree 2000 broadcast in Australia)
SBS has since been contacted for leads to -either- a (future) re-broadcast of the Dodson speech -or- a video of the same.
Nothing was forthcoming, nor was there any explanation to be had for the cutting of his speech down to a sentence or two on the SBS web site.
2. ABC's "Australia All Over" talk-host retained after playing racist, hate-inciting song:
No "Media Watch" presenter ever mentioned - let alone criticized - ABC's own Radio National presenter "Macca" (host of the popular "Australia All Over" program), when he played a racist, hate-inspiring song that called for a white uprising to kill off "those men without shoes" (in 1998)... played -immediately- after a live interview with an aboriginal man working in South Australia.
3. No ABC or other media was interested in the recent abusive "denial-of-service" response made by police at an inner-Adelaide (South Australia) police station, that moved a young aboriginal woman to tears & talk of taking her own life, after she tried to report to police details of a physical assault that left her bleeding from several places.
I happened to hear & see both of these, folks,... live and in colour; filed a complaint about each... and got a letter back from each of the organisations responsible.
No more than counseling of the erring employees was deemed necessary, in each case.
In the case of the police officer, only a form letter was received, after an "informal" handling of the matter...
What did the news (quite rightly, I agree) were stories of commercial talk-show hosts' secret PR-for-$'s contracts (e.g. in which radio personalities give air-time to interviews with (banking, communications, etc.) business proponents and/or aired views positive to the companies or business interests on controvertial matters, in exchange for big bucks).
With threats to ABC & other gov't media institutions, I would suggest that any insider(s) with stories to tell that would tend to taint their organisations' reputations... -isn't- going to come forward to blow the whistle.
Like other government bodies, all is behind closed doors.
PS An unpublished CD has been made of the ABC Radio National segment with the racist, hate-insiting song (and the preceding interview, for context), should anybody in an Aussie "Media Watch" group be interested in hearing it for some positive purpose.
BTW I understand that, in USA, any complaints filed with a broadcaster are to be held in a PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE file (albeit at the broadcaster's offices) and made available to regulators (FCC).
Is this still so? Has any change of medium occured (e.g. requiring such complaints to be transcribed or even logged on the broadcaster's and/or the FCC's Internet web site(s)?)
If not now, when? ;-|
OK, if you have property and lots of nice things, it isn't going to be easy to put all this stuff into jeopardy...
But - surely! - somebody with enough computer expertise to do the benchmarks
...and nothing to lose (e.g. because all of his/her gear is in a spouse's name... or owned by some untouchable trust... you get the idea)
...will eventually come along and write such a report as most of you fear to write/publish
...and will place it on some great off-shore web server, e.g. along with all those illicit copies of popular but expensive books and/or software.
Ideally, of course, someone will win a legal arguement that it's in the public interest to know the answers to questions that arise (and get answered) in benchmark reports
...or that the rights of an individual to create/publish such a report are greater than the rights of any corporation to supress it.
Where -else- is this content to be found?
...or, if necessary:
Is it available to buy, somewhere else?
BTW, if it's as useful as an early poster suggested, maybe it's worth rewarding its creators?)
A few years ago (probably in an issue of QST magazine), there was an article - with photo's - of a bike + trailer that hauled lotsa computers, radios, solar cells, batteries, GPS-gear & cel.tel's.
I think the designer/rider would come to your event for a cool US$ 5,000 for a show-and-tell, and the events were anything from trade-shows to science exhibits or the like.
It's been so long that I've forgotten its name and URL. Anybody got it coming back to mind?