[aprssig] Xastir install issues

[Curt Mills]

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005, Bill Diaz wrote:

> In case you haven't noticed, UiView is free, or nearly so.  You are asked to
> donate to a local cancer charity.  UiView is not going to disappear any time
> soon either, because of the API Roger provided, add-on's continue to be
> released.  Users don't have to compile the source, or enter any command line
> commands and search the web for libraries for their particular flavor of
> Linux. 

There will come a point at which UI-View won't work as-is.  Either
due to changes in the APRS spec which can't be accomodated with
add-on's to UI-View, or due to the OS changing underneath it so that
it will no longer install/run.  It's just a matter of time, although
it could still be years down the road.

I can't with a clear conscience recommend that anyone run a program
for which the author is SK, for which the source didn't get passed
on.


> Why do you refuse to respond on the SIG to valid user complaints and
> concerns?

Because it's the wrong forum?


> Most people don't run Xastir because of the difficulty installing
> it, yet you hype it as the best thing since sliced bread.

No, most people don't run Xastir because they:
a) Think it is a Linux program,
b) Think it is too hard to install,
c) Have been mislead into running a program that will cause them
problems later when they can't keep running it (due to the developer
being SK and no further updates being available), or
d) Never heard of it or have never investigated it.

Do I care if most people don't run Xastir?  No.  But I _am_ happy
that at least one other person out there in the world likes it.
After all, I didn't write it, and I don't own it.  The world owns it
because it is under a GPL open-source license.  I certainly
appreciate the original developer, Frank, for starting the whole
project, and the hundreds of people along the way that use it,
develop it, or contribute patches/feature requests/bug reports to
the project.  All of these people keep the project thriving.  We
couldn't do without any of them.

What I want to do in the future is to add more SAR map and SAR
management features to Xastir, add more map types and map features,
and then start on a distributed Xastir where the cross-platform
problems will be much easier to work.  It'll breathe new life into
the project when we get to that stage, not that we need it now.

We have some of the best free maps available in the world, right
here in the US of A.  I see no reason to depend on commercial
mapping programs and map data, except in those instances where the
most up-to-date maps MUST be available.  This hobby ain't one of
those cases.  BTW:  We now have three SAR people on the Xastir
development team.  That's a very good thing!

-- 
Curt, WE7U.				archer at eskimo dot com
http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
  Lotto:  A tax on people who are bad at math. - unknown
Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates. - WE7U.
The world DOES revolve around me:  I picked the coordinate system!"