I'm the youngest guy by far in my ham radio club and I'm 34. Many of the radio guys I know aren't all that into the nuts and bolts of computing. In fact many hams resist change and that includes the introduction of digital transmission modes and the integration of RF and the Internet when it comes to ham digital networks and repeaters. You hams know what I'm talking about.
On the other hand many older hams know electronics theory cold and I'm a dabbler there at best. I'm much more adept at the digital stuff, being a programmer I'm much more comfortable playing around with packet, Winlink, Echolink, etc. Integrating software and RF hardware is fun. I still blow Joe Average away in terms of RF and electronics know-how.
I also enjoy working on my car, seems like automotive tech is another area where people look at it as a black box. That goes for many IT people, no one I work with bothers with their own car maintenance. I picked up auto repair from my father-in-law, that generation seems to be the last that really took the time to deal with fixing their own cars. Of course cars used to be easier for the driveway mechanic to deal with.
"And what about cell phones??? Well, all those signals go into orbit, so that could be an "international":cough: call as well."
Sorry, its a popular misconception that your cell phone is somehow a satellite phone. Your calls go to the closest cell tower and from there to the public switched network. If you happen to be making an international call originating from your cell phone, well then in the process of completing the circuit your call could be routed over a satellite link or perhaps more likely a fiber cable on the ocean floor.
You're simply incorrect. BPL will operate into the lower VHF range (30 - 80 Mhz) where there are in fact emergency service allocations. Thousands of municipalities and fire departments use frequencies in the 33 Mhz area for dispatch and general operations. My county uses 33.9 Mhz for fire dispatching. There are also public service allocations in the 40-46 Mhz range. Get your facts straight.
Unless you have a way to precisely measure the field strength of your transmitter, I would be wary of using an external antenna. I built a Ramsey Electronics FM transmitter kit once, and if I remember correctly the instructions indicated that the 250 microvolts at 3 meters should give you several hundred feet of range at best. You want to keep your ham license - just unplug the thing. You've announced to the world what you're doing, and the FCC loves to make examples out of rule-breakers.
Whats interesting is that satellite radio does use "public airwaves", although the service itself is subscription only. I had thought there was a good chance that the FCC, in its quest to rid us of Howard Stern, would actually decide to redefine the term broadcasting to include satellite radio on the basis on its use of public spectrum. Of course if that happened then all of cable TV would be exposed to the same regulation as broadcast TV, since cable channels get to the cable company headend via satellite transmission, and those frequencies are "public" spectrum as well. And that would allow the Republican base to finally get some sleep at night, knowing the rest of us won't be exposed to anything offensive (as they define it of course).
This fight isn't over, look for a Senate committe hearing soon, with a nifty demonstration of a satellite radio stood up next to a regular radio, and the Senators asking what the difference is. Then, look for a change to the law to modify the defintion of broadcasting. After all, anyone with a receiver for that band can receive the signal right?? And why isn't that broadcasting. Well its an encrypted signal you say. Hey, its all to protect the children.
I smell a rat here...looks like a gradual weakening of Part 15. I've always been amused at the blatantly (in some cases) illegal experimentation with 802.11 gear to get the max gain and range. Not that I have a problem with experimentation, but if you want to exceed what's legal with Part 15 then you should get a Tech ticket. Now that won't be an issue. Anyone see a parallel to BPL? I'm waiting for the day the FCC changes Part 15 to redefine harmful interference, as it pertains to BPL only. Then we'll be the ones with our asses in a sling when our HF QSOs knock out the neighbor's broadband porn, not the other way around.
After successfully defending its patent on "coordinating the delivery of a gift", Amazon.com patented the color brown and the letters "UPS". The Chief Judge of the Third U.S. District Court upheld a lower court's ruling that gives Amazon.com the right to impound UPS trucks on sight, and hold UPS drivers indefinitely as "enemy combatants".
I bought the original edition, 5th or 6th printing, for $3 at a yard sale when I was 12 or something (1986)...then a few years later traded it for a box of Estes model rocket motors! One nerd commodity for another.
What about our mythical garage band signing on with an independent label? No matter what type of watermarking technology may eventually be mandated, I can't imagine it will be priced out of the range of all indies. And for all labels, won't the cost of licensing be passed on to the consumer? So yeah we'll all pay more for CD's, but at least the new costs should be about the same for all labels. I'll grant that watermark licensing will probably be based on volume, which puts indies at a disadvantage. But I think the licensing body (unless its the RIAA itself) will have an economic incentive to have as many licensees as possible.
"You decide that Product A isn't worth $10 to you. (The step you missed)"
Wait a minute here. What is Product A worth then? After all if you were willing to make that free copy, there must have been something compelling about Product A that convinced you to make the effort to get it. Its a chicken-and-egg scenario. The reason that Product A isn't worth the $10 to YOU is that you know you can get a copy for $0. You are pointing out your own lack of moral values in regard to theft. We all know Range Rovers aren't "worth" $70k but would you be willing to buy one for $15k if you knew it was stolen? Piracy may be easy, but that doesn't make it right.
You're buying habits are similar to mine. I buy new releases from 3 or 4 artists when they come out, and other than that I might buy classic jazz compilations and albums. My collection is getting to the point where I don't get bored with what I have. I have no problem with music distributed (legally) via MP3, I was only commenting on the attitude associated with downloading copyright music that otherwise would have to be paid for. I guess its an integrity issue for me, why not support someone you really dig?
I listen to many artists whose music I obtained directly, via MP3. No CD was involved.
Of course you can obtain someone's music directly via MP3. I was referring to downloading MP3's of copyright works (aka pirating). Which is why I presented the either/or choice that is valid in that case - either you purchase the music in CD format (or tape or vinyl) legally or you download an illegal copy.
Sure, an MP3 download is nothing more than "transfering electrons from one source to another". But get real for a minute. The source of that MP3 can be nothing else but a COPY of a CD. What is your alternative to downloading that MP3? Paying for the CD (or tape or vinyl). And that purchase equals a royalty payment of some sort for the artist does it not? So by not purchasing a copy legally, you are depriving the artist of money, period. Sure the labels are greedy. But the vast majority of folks aren't voluntarily donating to the artists whose work they download, so why can't you pony up the bucks for these musicians you claim to appreciate?
I guess my age is showing here (I'm 29), but in some ways I see the RIAA's point. No I don't support federal "shock troops" breaking down your dorm door to take your pirated CDs. But, it appears that we have a whole generation of college-age people who have become used to paying $0.00 for their music. My brother-in-law is 19, and he hasn't purchased a CD in three years. Sure when you look at the micro level, what difference is it to Sony Music if a college sophomore is burning CDs at 3:00 am in South Bend or wherever. But at the macro level, this all adds up, and IMO not just for the huge labels but for the individual artists as well. I'm an amateur musician but if I had an album on the market, I think I would be interested in making enough money to continue a recording career. If you folks who pirate music are so interested in these artists and their work, why can't you support them? Where, exactly, do you think their royalty payments come from? I purchase my CDs willingly because I know I'm helping these people continue their careers. The bottom line for me is, would I be willing to shoplift from Tower rather than pay? No, and in my mind, copying pirated music is the same thing. Sure its accessible and easy to do, but that doesn't make it right. Or maybe I'm just old, after all I was buying vinyl until the last store in town stopped carrying it.
What's so unbelieveable. Information is power. The AOL/Time Warner's and MPAA's of the world want to imprison us digitally, while we foot the bill and thank our jailors profusely for doing us the favor.
You know what's ironic? The same U.S. government that helped fund the initial research that led to the Internet as we know it, appears to be on the verge of legislating away the very freedom-enabling attributes that made the Net what it is today. We'll be telling our kids about the Net - telling them about the days when it was a two-way medium.
Corporations exist to increase the wealth of shareholders, period. All other considerations are secondary. To increase shareholder wealth, new markets are constantly sought out and developed. Once they are exhausted or saturated the search begins again. I remember reading a quote in a college textbook from a CEO of a major multinational (it may have been GM), where he basically said his biggest wish was that his company could exist outside the boundaries of any sovereign government authority. The goal of these multinationals is to exist wholly as entities unto themselves. Their allegiance is to the bottom line, not to the greater good of the country where they happen to be headquartered in. To me that is amoral - not an inherently evil or bad thing, simply a moral vacuum that exists when the overarching goal isn't tethered to any motive other than profit. This story (a great one by the way) is a perfect example of this. Its hard to blame Cisco if you look at this from the corporate point of view. What is aggravating to me is the U.S. government's silent complicity - where was the outrage when Cisco and company decided to climb in bed with the Chinese leadership?
This is a somewhat related story. There is a hardware hacker in Czechoslovakia who makes serial cables that interface between the PC serial port and the serial port on a Commodore 64 disk drive or CPU. Methinks more than a few Slashdotters may have a cable from this guy. Anyway there are several programs floating around that allow you to use your PC as a C64 'hard drive' or to access the Commie disk drive from the PC, via this cable. You can also homebrew one yourself. With this setup you can download C64 game images to your PC and load them up on the old Commie. Given this story I imagine this guy could be shut out of the U.S., although AFAIK no copyright holders to the old 64 games have been coming out of the woodwork, demanding action.
Inaction isn't an option. Every voice speaking out helps in some way. If you want a future where all internet access, not to mention the backbone, is controlled by two or three companies, then sit back and be silent. Eventually sites like Slashdot will be a dim memory.
Don't forget that most of the amateur bands are internationally allocated, and a change would require an ITU action. At least that's the case for HF, AFAIK. Now for VHF and above it gets more interesting. The federal government has the primary allocation on 70 cm (420-450 Mhz), and since 9/11 the DOD has stated they have no intention of giving up any allocations. There was talk earlier in the year of the federal government giving up some spectrum in return for a reallocation. The 2 meter band (144 - 148 Mhz) is probably too low to be commercially viable given the antenna lengths required for efficient communication, however the bands from 900 Mhz and up are in peril. Amateurs have a secondary allocation on 902 - 928 Mhz and on the 2.4 Ghz band. Needless to say we're sharing with a variety of users there. Still the number of amateur users above 70 cm is low, and frankly I feel the service will survive if we're limited to UHF and below. Its mostly our fault for underusing what we have. Its also a function of political thinkng these days, where the public interest is often defined in terms of who can utulize the resource for maximum profit (and the highest campaign contribution).
That maybe the kid sent the email from a friend's PC (or a 'community' PC of sorts), and that the fact that he kept his Commodore hidden is only tangential to the story? As far as Net access is concerned, I've read stories of Taliban members who have (had?) satellite TV, CD players, you name it. Look at the New Republic from a week or two ago, there's a story that mentions a Talib with loads of contraband at home.
Hey I hide my Commodore from my wife, so I can relate!
Its about the right language for the job at hand
on
J#
·
· Score: 1
If you're building an n-tier system, some languages are more appropriate for different layers. For example, you could write a GUI using VC++, but why would you when VB is better suited for fast GUI development. On the other hand, VC++ is better for lower-level component work where you're making API calls, doing direct memory management, and working with threads. Most of those kinds of tasks are difficult/impossible using VB. In the world of business system development, its not a matter of "okay Bob your favorite language is C#, so go ahead and implement the user interface with it". Its really an issue of what tool allows the job to be done with maximum efficiency.
I'm rockin' the suburbs
So the top search engines are prostituting themselves out? Imagine the reaction if Mapquest secretly inserted "detours" in travel routes based on the number of McDonalds (or Burger Kings) along the way. And they charged millions for it.
When I do a web search, I want the results sorted by relevance! Too bad the FTC can't get involved.
I work from home. I go to work to check my Slashdot post scores.
You really touched on what it meant to be a tech-oriented kid in 1986. You're two years older than me, but we share many of the same experiences from that time. In my hometown, in the Northeast, the Commodore 64 was king. I clearly remember crying - crying - because my folks were considering a TRS-80 for Christmas in 1984 instead of the C64. Back then, not having the same computer as your buddies meant you were totally out in the cold - no one to trade and crack games with, share code tips with, and most importantly play games with! My middle school and high school had C64's, and later C128's. Our computer classes were all about BASIC. We had a cool teacher in 6th grade who went into the history of computers with us and turned me on to technology in a big way.
We played Dungeons and Dragons, rode our Schwinn BMX bikes in the woods outside of town, built model rockets and RC cars and thought we would rule the world. The only thing I missed out on was networking - no one I knew had a modem at that time. I still look at the programs I wrote back then (on my Commodore Plus/4!). Sometimes I miss those days.
We had a strong rebellious streak then, just like kids today. Out of my circle of buddies, we had a fireworks nut, a cracking and code nut(me), and an anarchist. My buddy Joe used to get catalogs from a shadowy outfit, Phoenix Systems I think it was, who sold strange stuff like razor tape, fuse by the foot, police-grade smoke bombs, and military surplus vehicles. How he found them before the Net, I'll never know!
I know this is redundant, but I haven't seen the ARRL link posted yet:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html
If you can't find it at a hamfest, it may not be worth finding at all! I have seen the following at hamfests:
- piles of C-band satellite gear, $5 or so
- DSS receivers and dishes for next to nothing
- 286 and 386 desktop PC's, FREE! (sans monitor and keyboard)
- old computer/language manuals of all descriptions
Its not just radio stuff!
Slashdot Mirror
I'm the youngest guy by far in my ham radio club and I'm 34. Many of the radio guys I know aren't all that into the nuts and bolts of computing. In fact many hams resist change and that includes the introduction of digital transmission modes and the integration of RF and the Internet when it comes to ham digital networks and repeaters. You hams know what I'm talking about.
On the other hand many older hams know electronics theory cold and I'm a dabbler there at best. I'm much more adept at the digital stuff, being a programmer I'm much more comfortable playing around with packet, Winlink, Echolink, etc. Integrating software and RF hardware is fun. I still blow Joe Average away in terms of RF and electronics know-how.
I also enjoy working on my car, seems like automotive tech is another area where people look at it as a black box. That goes for many IT people, no one I work with bothers with their own car maintenance. I picked up auto repair from my father-in-law, that generation seems to be the last that really took the time to deal with fixing their own cars. Of course cars used to be easier for the driveway mechanic to deal with.
"And what about cell phones??? Well, all those signals go into orbit, so that could be an "international" :cough: call as well."
Sorry, its a popular misconception that your cell phone is somehow a satellite phone. Your calls go to the closest cell tower and from there to the public switched network. If you happen to be making an international call originating from your cell phone, well then in the process of completing the circuit your call could be routed over a satellite link or perhaps more likely a fiber cable on the ocean floor.
You're simply incorrect. BPL will operate into the lower VHF range (30 - 80 Mhz) where there are in fact emergency service allocations. Thousands of municipalities and fire departments use frequencies in the 33 Mhz area for dispatch and general operations. My county uses 33.9 Mhz for fire dispatching. There are also public service allocations in the 40-46 Mhz range. Get your facts straight.
Bruce,
Unless you have a way to precisely measure the field strength of your transmitter, I would be wary of using an external antenna. I built a Ramsey Electronics FM transmitter kit once, and if I remember correctly the instructions indicated that the 250 microvolts at 3 meters should give you several hundred feet of range at best. You want to keep your ham license - just unplug the thing. You've announced to the world what you're doing, and the FCC loves to make examples out of rule-breakers.
Matt
N3SOZ
Whats interesting is that satellite radio does use "public airwaves", although the service itself is subscription only. I had thought there was a good chance that the FCC, in its quest to rid us of Howard Stern, would actually decide to redefine the term broadcasting to include satellite radio on the basis on its use of public spectrum. Of course if that happened then all of cable TV would be exposed to the same regulation as broadcast TV, since cable channels get to the cable company headend via satellite transmission, and those frequencies are "public" spectrum as well. And that would allow the Republican base to finally get some sleep at night, knowing the rest of us won't be exposed to anything offensive (as they define it of course).
This fight isn't over, look for a Senate committe hearing soon, with a nifty demonstration of a satellite radio stood up next to a regular radio, and the Senators asking what the difference is. Then, look for a change to the law to modify the defintion of broadcasting. After all, anyone with a receiver for that band can receive the signal right?? And why isn't that broadcasting. Well its an encrypted signal you say. Hey, its all to protect the children.
I smell a rat here...looks like a gradual weakening of Part 15. I've always been amused at the blatantly (in some cases) illegal experimentation with 802.11 gear to get the max gain and range. Not that I have a problem with experimentation, but if you want to exceed what's legal with Part 15 then you should get a Tech ticket. Now that won't be an issue. Anyone see a parallel to BPL? I'm waiting for the day the FCC changes Part 15 to redefine harmful interference, as it pertains to BPL only. Then we'll be the ones with our asses in a sling when our HF QSOs knock out the neighbor's broadband porn, not the other way around.
After successfully defending its patent on "coordinating the delivery of a gift", Amazon.com patented the color brown and the letters "UPS". The Chief Judge of the Third U.S. District Court upheld a lower court's ruling that gives Amazon.com the right to impound UPS trucks on sight, and hold UPS drivers indefinitely as "enemy combatants".
I bought the original edition, 5th or 6th printing, for $3 at a yard sale when I was 12 or something (1986)...then a few years later traded it for a box of Estes model rocket motors! One nerd commodity for another.
I got more "mileage" from the motors however...
What about our mythical garage band signing on with an independent label? No matter what type of watermarking technology may eventually be mandated, I can't imagine it will be priced out of the range of all indies. And for all labels, won't the cost of licensing be passed on to the consumer? So yeah we'll all pay more for CD's, but at least the new costs should be about the same for all labels. I'll grant that watermark licensing will probably be based on volume, which puts indies at a disadvantage. But I think the licensing body (unless its the RIAA itself) will have an economic incentive to have as many licensees as possible.
"You decide that Product A isn't worth $10 to you. (The step you missed)"
Wait a minute here. What is Product A worth then? After all if you were willing to make that free copy, there must have been something compelling about Product A that convinced you to make the effort to get it. Its a chicken-and-egg scenario. The reason that Product A isn't worth the $10 to YOU is that you know you can get a copy for $0. You are pointing out your own lack of moral values in regard to theft. We all know Range Rovers aren't "worth" $70k but would you be willing to buy one for $15k if you knew it was stolen? Piracy may be easy, but that doesn't make it right.
You're buying habits are similar to mine. I buy new releases from 3 or 4 artists when they come out, and other than that I might buy classic jazz compilations and albums. My collection is getting to the point where I don't get bored with what I have. I have no problem with music distributed (legally) via MP3, I was only commenting on the attitude associated with downloading copyright music that otherwise would have to be paid for. I guess its an integrity issue for me, why not support someone you really dig?
I listen to many artists whose music I obtained directly, via MP3. No CD was involved.
Of course you can obtain someone's music directly via MP3. I was referring to downloading MP3's of copyright works (aka pirating). Which is why I presented the either/or choice that is valid in that case - either you purchase the music in CD format (or tape or vinyl) legally or you download an illegal copy.
Sure, an MP3 download is nothing more than "transfering electrons from one source to another". But get real for a minute. The source of that MP3 can be nothing else but a COPY of a CD. What is your alternative to downloading that MP3? Paying for the CD (or tape or vinyl). And that purchase equals a royalty payment of some sort for the artist does it not? So by not purchasing a copy legally, you are depriving the artist of money, period. Sure the labels are greedy. But the vast majority of folks aren't voluntarily donating to the artists whose work they download, so why can't you pony up the bucks for these musicians you claim to appreciate?
I guess my age is showing here (I'm 29), but in some ways I see the RIAA's point. No I don't support federal "shock troops" breaking down your dorm door to take your pirated CDs. But, it appears that we have a whole generation of college-age people who have become used to paying $0.00 for their music. My brother-in-law is 19, and he hasn't purchased a CD in three years. Sure when you look at the micro level, what difference is it to Sony Music if a college sophomore is burning CDs at 3:00 am in South Bend or wherever. But at the macro level, this all adds up, and IMO not just for the huge labels but for the individual artists as well. I'm an amateur musician but if I had an album on the market, I think I would be interested in making enough money to continue a recording career. If you folks who pirate music are so interested in these artists and their work, why can't you support them? Where, exactly, do you think their royalty payments come from? I purchase my CDs willingly because I know I'm helping these people continue their careers. The bottom line for me is, would I be willing to shoplift from Tower rather than pay? No, and in my mind, copying pirated music is the same thing. Sure its accessible and easy to do, but that doesn't make it right. Or maybe I'm just old, after all I was buying vinyl until the last store in town stopped carrying it.
What's so unbelieveable. Information is power. The AOL/Time Warner's and MPAA's of the world want to imprison us digitally, while we foot the bill and thank our jailors profusely for doing us the favor.
You know what's ironic? The same U.S. government that helped fund the initial research that led to the Internet as we know it, appears to be on the verge of legislating away the very freedom-enabling attributes that made the Net what it is today. We'll be telling our kids about the Net - telling them about the days when it was a two-way medium.
Corporations exist to increase the wealth of shareholders, period. All other considerations are secondary. To increase shareholder wealth, new markets are constantly sought out and developed. Once they are exhausted or saturated the search begins again. I remember reading a quote in a college textbook from a CEO of a major multinational (it may have been GM), where he basically said his biggest wish was that his company could exist outside the boundaries of any sovereign government authority. The goal of these multinationals is to exist wholly as entities unto themselves. Their allegiance is to the bottom line, not to the greater good of the country where they happen to be headquartered in. To me that is amoral - not an inherently evil or bad thing, simply a moral vacuum that exists when the overarching goal isn't tethered to any motive other than profit. This story (a great one by the way) is a perfect example of this. Its hard to blame Cisco if you look at this from the corporate point of view. What is aggravating to me is the U.S. government's silent complicity - where was the outrage when Cisco and company decided to climb in bed with the Chinese leadership?
This is a somewhat related story. There is a hardware hacker in Czechoslovakia who makes serial cables that interface between the PC serial port and the serial port on a Commodore 64 disk drive or CPU. Methinks more than a few Slashdotters may have a cable from this guy. Anyway there are several programs floating around that allow you to use your PC as a C64 'hard drive' or to access the Commie disk drive from the PC, via this cable. You can also homebrew one yourself. With this setup you can download C64 game images to your PC and load them up on the old Commie. Given this story I imagine this guy could be shut out of the U.S., although AFAIK no copyright holders to the old 64 games have been coming out of the woodwork, demanding action.
Right.
Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.
Inaction isn't an option. Every voice speaking out helps in some way. If you want a future where all internet access, not to mention the backbone, is controlled by two or three companies, then sit back and be silent. Eventually sites like Slashdot will be a dim memory.
Try www.winradio.com
Don't forget that most of the amateur bands are internationally allocated, and a change would require an ITU action. At least that's the case for HF, AFAIK. Now for VHF and above it gets more interesting. The federal government has the primary allocation on 70 cm (420-450 Mhz), and since 9/11 the DOD has stated they have no intention of giving up any allocations. There was talk earlier in the year of the federal government giving up some spectrum in return for a reallocation. The 2 meter band (144 - 148 Mhz) is probably too low to be commercially viable given the antenna lengths required for efficient communication, however the bands from 900 Mhz and up are in peril. Amateurs have a secondary allocation on 902 - 928 Mhz and on the 2.4 Ghz band. Needless to say we're sharing with a variety of users there. Still the number of amateur users above 70 cm is low, and frankly I feel the service will survive if we're limited to UHF and below. Its mostly our fault for underusing what we have. Its also a function of political thinkng these days, where the public interest is often defined in terms of who can utulize the resource for maximum profit (and the highest campaign contribution).
bogusflow
That maybe the kid sent the email from a friend's PC (or a 'community' PC of sorts), and that the fact that he kept his Commodore hidden is only tangential to the story? As far as Net access is concerned, I've read stories of Taliban members who have (had?) satellite TV, CD players, you name it. Look at the New Republic from a week or two ago, there's a story that mentions a Talib with loads of contraband at home.
Hey I hide my Commodore from my wife, so I can relate!
If you're building an n-tier system, some languages are more appropriate for different layers. For example, you could write a GUI using VC++, but why would you when VB is better suited for fast GUI development. On the other hand, VC++ is better for lower-level component work where you're making API calls, doing direct memory management, and working with threads. Most of those kinds of tasks are difficult/impossible using VB. In the world of business system development, its not a matter of "okay Bob your favorite language is C#, so go ahead and implement the user interface with it". Its really an issue of what tool allows the job to be done with maximum efficiency.
I'm rockin' the suburbs
So the top search engines are prostituting themselves out? Imagine the reaction if Mapquest secretly inserted "detours" in travel routes based on the number of McDonalds (or Burger Kings) along the way. And they charged millions for it.
When I do a web search, I want the results sorted by relevance! Too bad the FTC can't get involved.
I work from home. I go to work to check my Slashdot post scores.
You really touched on what it meant to be a tech-oriented kid in 1986. You're two years older than me, but we share many of the same experiences from that time. In my hometown, in the Northeast, the Commodore 64 was king. I clearly remember crying - crying - because my folks were considering a TRS-80 for Christmas in 1984 instead of the C64. Back then, not having the same computer as your buddies meant you were totally out in the cold - no one to trade and crack games with, share code tips with, and most importantly play games with! My middle school and high school had C64's, and later C128's. Our computer classes were all about BASIC. We had a cool teacher in 6th grade who went into the history of computers with us and turned me on to technology in a big way.
We played Dungeons and Dragons, rode our Schwinn BMX bikes in the woods outside of town, built model rockets and RC cars and thought we would rule the world. The only thing I missed out on was networking - no one I knew had a modem at that time. I still look at the programs I wrote back then (on my Commodore Plus/4!). Sometimes I miss those days.
We had a strong rebellious streak then, just like kids today. Out of my circle of buddies, we had a fireworks nut, a cracking and code nut(me), and an anarchist. My buddy Joe used to get catalogs from a shadowy outfit, Phoenix Systems I think it was, who sold strange stuff like razor tape, fuse by the foot, police-grade smoke bombs, and military surplus vehicles. How he found them before the Net, I'll never know!
I know this is redundant, but I haven't seen the ARRL link posted yet:
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html
If you can't find it at a hamfest, it may not be worth finding at all! I have seen the following at hamfests:
- piles of C-band satellite gear, $5 or so
- DSS receivers and dishes for next to nothing
- 286 and 386 desktop PC's, FREE! (sans monitor and keyboard)
- old computer/language manuals of all descriptions
Its not just radio stuff!