Mimi Gallandt -> Ed Hulett wrote:

 EH>>>>>>>>>> I don't have any protection on
this system or six of my other
 MG>>>>>>>>> systems. I
 EH>>>>>>>>>> do have protection (avast!
anti-virus and a couple
 MG>>>>> anti-spy/malware
 EH>>>>>>>>>> apps) on the only Windows
computer I have, though. :-)

 EH>>>>>>>>>> The nice thing about Linux is
that there are no viruses or
 EH>>>> spyware
 MG>>>>>>>>> that

 MG>>>>>>>>> *YET*  :)

 EH>>>>>>>> I doubt there will be anything to worry
about anytime soon.

 EH>>>>>>>>>> effect it. That and it blows
Vista/XP/etc. away.

 MG>>>>>>>>> Your preference, my machine does
everything I need it to do and
 EH>>>>>>>> doesn't
 MG>>>>>>>>> require me to learn too many new things. :)

 EH>>>>>>>> You'd be surprised at how little you
would need to learn to do
 EH>>>>>>>> everything you do now.

 EH>>>>>>>> Ed

 MG>>>>>>> New technology intimidates me.

 EH>>>>>> There's nothing new about Linux. It's based on
Unix that has been
 MG>>>>> around
 EH>>>>>> since the 60s. :-)

 MG>>>>> It's new to me. :)

 EH>>>> Point taken. :-)

 MG>>>>>>> I'm sure that my cell phone does lots of
 MG>>>>>>> things besides phone calls (I have a
Motorola Razr) but I'll be
 MG>>>>> darned
 MG>>>>>>> if that manual is in English.  :)

 EH>>>>>> Heh heh... I have a RAZR and a KRAZR and they
do all sorts of
 MG>>> things.
 EH>>>>>> But... I usually only use them to make calls. ;-)

 MG>>>>> I know it'll take pictures, but I don't know how,
besides that's
 EH>>>> what my
 MG>>>>> camera is for.

 EH>>>> It's pretty easy to take pictures with it, but I agree that it's
 MG>>> better
 EH>>>> to use a camera instead.

 MG>>>>> My dad, the Imagineer, used to say "the more goodies in
 MG>>>>> it, the more things to break. He was making that
observation about
 EH>>>> cars,
 MG>>>>> but it fits a Razr as well. :) He'd probably go
crazy with all the
 MG>>>>> things on a PC. You have to remember that he worked
with room sized
 MG>>>>> computers. :)

 EH>>>> Those room sized computers had less computing power
than your RAZR
 EH>>>> cellphone. Your father would be amazed at what can be done with
 MG>>> today's
 EH>>>> computers.

 MG>>> There are many things today that would amaze daddy, not the least of
 MG>>> which is how the Disney Corp has ruined Walt's dream.

 EH>> I'm sure he would.

 MG> Walt built Disneyland "for the child in all of us",
there's very little
 MG> magic left in the Magic Kingdom. I think the idea behind California
 MG> Adventure was a good idea that failed in the execution.

California usually ruins anything that was once a good idea. :-)

 MG>>> I'm not sure that daddy would be all that impressed with cell
 EH>> phones, he was a licensed
 MG>>> Ham radio operator and cell phones use the same sound waves that Hams
 MG>>> do/did (do Hams still exist?)

 EH>> I'm a licensed HAM operator. I hold a Amateur General Class HAM
 MG> license.
 EH>> And yes, we still exist. :-)

 EH>> Cellphones use parts of the 800, 900, 1900MHz and 3GHz bands.

 EH>> HAMs have privileges in parts of those bands as well for
 EH>> experimentation. There is no conflict between the two services,
 MG> though.

 MG> I didn't phrase my thought well, I meant that cell phones are a natural
 MG> progression from shortwave (HAM) radios, not that they use the same
 MG> bands as HAMs.

The cellphone as we know it today was invented in Israel. HAMs have had the
technology quite a bit longer. VHF and UHF radios still have a DTMF keypad
on them just like a telephone. I can make a phone call using my VHF/UHF
radio as long as I access a repeater with a phone patch. The only problem
is everyone else can here the conversation. It is also against regulations
to use HAM radio for commercial use. Most HAMs use VHF/UHF phone patches to
call and tell their non-HAM spouse that they are on their way home or some
such.

As the ARRL motto goes, "When all else fails, Amateur Radio."

Ed

-- 
"Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap,
we should soon want bread." -- Thomas Jefferson (Autobiography, 1821)
Linux User# 416016
Linux Machine# 385029

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