Dear Friend,
I don't often speak or write about my other lives, outside of the podcast, but this week I felt compelled to speak about my most recent loss. Windows 7 is now dead, buried, and a fading memory.
For the last 30 years, every time I was at some transition point in my computer use, to buy a new one, or a change in the operating system, I reluctantly stayed with Microsoft. I felt that with Windows 7, MS finally got it right. On January 15, of this month, Microsoft decided to end its support of Windows 7, preferring that all users move up to Windows 10. I have to run Windows 10 on a laptop to support my clients who still use it.
For my own use and "my daily driver" , I finally made the decision that I put off for years - to move out of Microsoft Land to Kubuntu, or Ubuntu with KDE Plasma Linux. My old Dell desktop now has a new 1TB SSD running Linux and it is fast and does not break, so far. Linux takes some getting used to, requires lots of Googling to understand how to add your favorite applications, and what new applications to use instead of Microsoft utilities, like Snipping Tool, that I use all day long.
I am tweaking it along the way, but so far, so good. I can do all of the tasks around the QSO Today podcast that I did on Windows, without restarts. The suite of software that is available on Linux is remarkable.
As I am a computer and network consultant by day, I have moved all of my clients off of Windows 7 to Windows 10 or Linux. I believe that an un-patched MS operating system is dangerous, and right now is a malware target. Consider upgrading to Windows 10, Apple OS, or Linux.
My guest this week is Mike Foerster, W0IH, who has contributed many articles to QST and QEX Magazines over the years. Mike points out that one of the problems with dipoles on 75-80 meters is that they are not broadband enough to cover the entire band. Mike tunes his dipole in a very clever way that he discusses in the podcast and was the subject of one of his QST articles.
Thanks for listening.
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