Thanks Fred, Now I know you are exaggerating. But, thanks. Its a pity that QST is not available here anymore, would have been interesting to see. Perhaps I can translate the text in the overview and submit that to the Swedish ham radio magazine (named QTC). 73 de Per, sm0rwo tor 2007-04-19 klockan 10:02 -0500 skrev Fred Reiselt: > Per, > > What you have written looks like an excellent overview of PSKmail. > > I think your non-native english is better than my native english:>) > > 73, > Fred > wb5con > > PS - Looks like PSKmail got mentioned again in the May QST. That's 3 > times in QST this year! > > Per Crusefalk wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > I have been playing with the idea of trying to write another angle on a > > quick introdution to pskmail. I started out trying to put my finger on > > what I liked about the system and I tried to match the vocabulary and > > feel used to sell major commercial systems. Someone said the number one > > reason that perfectly good open source solutions fail, even though they > > may be technical wonders, is that they spend too much time coding and > > very little on spreading the word and documenting. As I'm not a native > > english speaker I would apprciate it if someone could help me correct > > errors in this little attempt. As always I appreciate any input on this. > > > > 73 de Per, sm0rwo > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > > > What is PSKmail > > > > PSKmail is a system that allows infrastructure independent access to > > internet services such as email and web. > > A sailboat on an ocean can read and send email, fetch weather reports, > > send direct messages and update the ships position through the APRS > > system. Friends and family can stay in touch and can also follow the > > ships movements seconds after position updates are sent from the ship. > > PSKmail can provide access to internet services in rural and otherwise > > isolated areas. Perhaps you'd like internet access on the North pole? > > No problem, pskmail provides that. Wait, did I mention its free and open > > source? > > > > Infrastructure independent ? > > > > PSkmail clients access servers using hf. A mobile station can be battery > > operated, solar powered, and can be located somewhere off the beaten > > track (in a jungle or on the high seas for example). > > Naturally the servers need to be connected to the internet to fetch > > internet email. But, the servers can even be used without internet > > connection (where that is not allowed or for special purposes such as > > emergency systems). The servers are independent and do not fail if a > > central system should be unreachable. Should one server be off the air > > then feel free to use another. > > > > E-mail > > > > E-mail is an essential communications medium. PSKmail allows mobile > > clients access to their e-mail whenever and wherever necessary. With > > PSKmail you access your email providers pop server, meaning that your > > normal email account can be used. Support is also in place for popular > > services like gmail. > > The pskmail client application features a settings dialogue where your > > service providers email settings can be entered, these settings can be > > sent on the air during a connection with a pskmail server. > > The system will store your settings in a centralized database and use > > that if available. > > > > Surfing the web > > > > PSKmail provides text based web surfing. Clients can access their > > favourite web sites and, in order to save bandwidth, pskmail delivers > > these in text form (with images removed). This is a very useful feature. > > The sailor can, for instance, access weather reports, navigational > > warnings etc. Newssites can be browsed and I can fetch the match report > > from my hockey teams latest game. > > > > APRS > > > > The Automatic Position Reporting System was designed to support rapid, > > reliable exchange of information for local, tactical real-time > > information, events or nets. PSKmail is able to send position reports > > and exchange station to station aprs messages. One nice way to use this > > is for instance to send the current position every ten minutes from a > > mobile station. Friends and family can follow the stations movements on > > a graphical display (see the wiki for more on this). > > > > Emergency support > > > > PSKmail is an outstanding tool in emergency situations. The server > > network is loosely tied together and that means that if a server, or > > even large parts of the network, should be out of service then the > > remaining servers carry on business as usual. Of course one weak link is > > your email provider, should that server be out of service > > then fetching mail from it will be difficult. But, you may have another > > account? Just point the server in that direction then and carry on. > > What if the entire internet shuld go down then? > > Well, all servers have local mailboxes that can be used to store and > > forward your messages to other pskmail clients. > > > > So, how can I try this then? > > > > There is a live cd available for download. A live distro is a Linux > > distribution that is executed upon boot. Execution is done entirely from > > the boot media (cd) and the harddrive is not affected (and not even > > needed). A live cd is a great way to try out new things and get started > > quickly. You download the iso, burn it and boot your pc from the cd > > (just restart and have the cd in the reader). > > > > > > Getting started > > > > The pskmail wiki is a huge source of information, available here: > > http://pskmail.wikispaces.com > > > > Welcome! > > > > > > > > > > > -- Pär Crusefalk Turnévägen 5 14243 Skogås Tel: +4687717482 Mob: +46768800670