Introduction

In the world of amateur radio, it is traditional for radio amateurs to take old materials and repurpose them.  This tradition evolved from the days when radio equipment was difficult to obtain and incredibly expensive.  Typically radio amateurs build their own equipment from what was essentially trash.  The era of the Great Depression exacerbated this as did the onset of war in the 1930s and 1940s.  After the war, military surplus equipment was available and cheap.  Gradually the commercial availability of amateur radio equipment gave rise to the amateur radio market.

In the 1970s onwards, this same tradition was applied to home computing.  Initially one could only obtain a computer in a kit form and while financially affordable, it was still expensive.  With the rapid evolution of microprocessors and other computer-related technologies, home computing became more accessible and cheaper.  A commercial market was established and the titans of the computer industry soared to dominate it. 

End of Support for Windows 8.1 – My Laptop from 2014 is now E-Waste

On 10 January 2023, Microsoft ceased support for Windows 8.1.  My home laptop had been running Windows 8.1.  I tried to upgrade it to Windows 10 but ended up with a message from Microsoft indicating that my computer hardware was too old to actually run Windows 10 or 11 and that I should consider buying a new laptop – and then displayed a list of recommended laptops.  I immediately tried to do a security update and it failed.  Physically, there was nothing wrong with my old laptop other than it had a motherboard manufactured in 2014 (so it was 10 years old).  I thought about upgrading the RAM or the solid state hard drive (SSD).

Linux

After doing some research, I realized that my laptop could still be used and that I could run Linux from it.  My original intention was to allocate the laptop for amateur radio use as there was still more than enough capability to run logging programs, databases, FLDIGI and WSJTX (two amateur radio programs for signals analysis and digital mode amateur radio communications).  Initial experiments were promising and I was able to listen to FT-8 signals via an Internet-based software defined radio and decode the signals using WSJTX. 

My knowledge of Linux is very poor and I found myself on a steep learning curve trying to learn how to use that operating system.  While the graphical interfaces were not unlike Windows, I soon started to find that the terminal or console was of much more use.  I found myself with a very secure system that was more secure than Windows 7.  I also found that Linux allowed me greater control over the computer.  I realized just how much I had to learn about computers and computing, even though I have been in front of a keyboard since the mid 1980s. 

Retro Computing – WordPerfect 8.0 for UNIX

At my place of work we use WordPerfect more than MS Word.  I remember when WordPerfect was briefly available on Corel Linux in the 2000s.  For a while I thought I might be able to dig up a version and install it.  After some research this idea was abandoned – at least for now.  What I did find was a version of WordPerfect 8.0 for UNIX (which is essentially WordPerfect 5.2 for MS-DOS).  I installed it and it worked lightning fast.  This brought back distant memories of that program – in MS-DOS – which I last used in 1994.  It was interesting to see the old program and what it could do and how that influenced our typists’ preferences and practices today. 

With the discovery of old online repositories of defunct PC software (i.e. "abandoned ware"), I started to discover a hobbyist field of retro-computing – bringing back to life old computers that are considered e-waste today – just like my old laptop.  Like many people, I have what I call a “graveyard” of laptops – expensive in the day and always kept in backup as they were too valuable to get rid of.  My oldest laptop dates from 2006.  After a fair amount of trial and error, I was able to install a version of Windows 7 and a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu – for a 32-bit processor.  My old software library for Windows could be used once more.  My original laptop ran on Windows Vista and then I upgraded that to Windows 7 when support ran out.    I did download an authentic copy of Windows Vista and tried to install it with my serial number on the back of my laptop but this did not work as the installation software recognized the actual version of Vista being loaded was not from the original source disks.  With Windows 7 the same thing happened when I loaded a downloaded disk and an authentic serial number from one of my other graveyard laptops.  Not only that, I could not register it online as not only had support ben terminated but so had the online registration page.

Windows Lifecycle Management – Windows 11 Support Ending 2025

This led me to find out that all Windows operating systems have a limited lifespan with support ending for some of them as follows:[1]

• Widows XP, support ended April 8, 2014 (12 years);
• Windows 7, support ended January 14, 2020 (10 years);
• Windows 8.1, support ended January 10, 2023;
• Windows 10, support to end October 14, 2025;
• Windows 11, support to end November 11, 2025.

Without support for registration or security updates or even technical patches, not only is it a security risk to run these operating systems but it is increasingly difficult to register a version of the operating system.[2] This may affect libraries of old software that one might have in that they are increasingly useless.

There are options: 

1. One could simply disconnect the computer from the Internet and use it as a closed system. No new software could be introduced.  Security could be maintained that way.  This option is a very 1980s approach.  Is it reasonable in today’s age of Internet interconnectivity?
2. One could partition the old hard drive with one partition to operate the old Windows system and software and the other to run Linux. Since the Linux system is up-to-date, its security would be good and Internet browsing could be one using that.
3. One could run Linux and run the old operating system from a Virtual Machine or Virtual Box, along with the software for Windows. In addition, one could also see if the old Windows software is compatible with the Windows emulator (WINE) in Linux.  There is a similar feature for MS-DOS programs such as DOSBOX in Linux.
4. One could just abandon Windows and its programs altogether and operate under Linux (open source or commercial).
5. One could buy a newer computer and run a newer Windows operating system that is supported. This does not resolve the lifecycle issue.

From an amateur radio perspective, option 5 is not consistent with the underlying philosophy of repurposing.  From an environmentalist perspective, option 5 is also problematic as it promotes e-waste and an unnecessary wasting of resources in order to satisfy a drive for commercialism and profit.  Options 1 to 4 have issues too including the dominance of Windows and Windows-based software in the workplace and the relatively steep learning curve of Linux over Windows.  These options also are somewhat hindered by Microsoft – in terms of no support, no release of source code and other barriers to experimentation and tinkering (for instance UEFI booting).[3] 

For me, in order to become weaned off an unhealthy dependence on Windows, the withdrawal has to be gradual rather than immediate.  I still use Windows and will be for a long time, but as I learn about Linux, I am starting to learn how to use Windows more effectively, including the PowerShell (back to MS-DOS days). 

I might add that I was able to install and run Windows 7 under Linux.  I probably have not used Windows 7 since 2013 or so.  It was incredibly refreshing to see Windows 7 less all the "bloatware" that is present in Windows 11.  It also ran quite fast on my old laptop and all the drivers powered up all the devices (which Vista could not do, even though the laptop originally came with Windows Vista).  There is a fair bit of writing on the Internet on this phenomenon.

The Right to Repair

The right to repair is increasingly a subject of discussion:[4]

Right to repair is a legal right for owners of devices and equipment to freely modify and repair products such as automobiles, electronics, and farm equipment. Right to repair may also refer to the social movement of citizens putting pressure on their governments to enact laws protecting a right to repair.

Obstacles to repair include use of repair services offered only by the manufacturer, restrictions on tools and components and software barriers.  This concept originated with motor vehicles but it is now relevant to consumer electronics, including smartphones.  Advocates for the right to repair suggest that,[5]

1. the device should be constructed and designed in a manner that allows repairs to be made easily;
2. end users and independent repair providers should be able to access original spare parts and necessary tools (software as well as physical tools) at fair market conditions;
3. repairs should, by design, be possible and not be hindered by software programming; and
4. the repairability of a device should be clearly communicated by the manufacturer.

The right to repair is confronted directly by intellectual property rights, digital rights management, planned obsolescence and, in the case of the UEFI example above, arguments based on security.  All of these things run counter to the amateur radio philosophy of being able to tinker with things and to experiment with technology. 

Conclusion

Amateur radio is often viewed as an old-fashioned hobby where an elderly person switches on a tube radio and then starts to tap Morse code on their straight-key.  That may well be the image portrayed by the media, but the reality is that the underlying philosophy of amateur radio – philanthropy, service to the public, experimentation and exploration – is more alive today than ever.  In this article, I have discussed how an old laptop was revitalized to serve my amateur radio station but in the process, I discovered how little I knew about computing.  As I started experimenting and exploring, I quickly encountered planned obsolescence and the whole area of the right to repair.  I will continue to revitalize my graveyard of laptops but these old laptops are now serving an incredibly important purpose – one for which they were never designed or intended – to gain greater insight into the nature of computing, the consumer electronics industry and, of course, amateur radio.

End Notes

[1] These dates may vary depending on the actual version of Windows that one has.  Different releases have different dates.  For example Windows 11 Home and Pro support ended on October 4, 2021.  See the Microsoft Lifecycle database for its commercial products:  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/?products=windows . There is probably an imminent release of Windows 12 coming up.

[2] https://www.hp.com/ca-en/shop/offer.aspx?p=the-risk-of-running-an-old-os

[3] Competitive Processes, Anticompetitive Practices and Consumer Harm in the Software Industry:  An Analysis of the Inadequacies of the Microsoft-Department of Justice Proposed Final Judgment at https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/atr/legacy/2007/09/10/mtc-00028565b.pdf .  For UEFI, see:  https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface .

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_repair#:~:text=Right%20to%20repair%20is%20a,protecting%20a%20right%20to%20repair.  Also see a leading NGO advocacy group:  https://www.repair.org/ .

[5] See:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_repair#:~:text=Right%20to%20repair%20is%20a,protecting%20a%20right%20to%20repair , citing Park, Miles (March 22, 2018). "Sustainable shopping: if you really, truly need a new phone, buy one with replaceable parts". The Conversation.