What can Linux do for Hams?

The nature of the Linux culture in many ways meshes well with that of the Ham radio culture- being able to tinker with things, see how they work, make them work better.
You can download many programs for Linux from the Internet, for free. Often they also come with the source code.
There are quite a few applications that run on Linux that could be of use to Hams, as well as some built in functionality that helps you with such tasks as connecting to a packet radio network.
Linux is the only operating system that includes built in functionality for the AX.25 amateur radio packet protocol.

The nature of the Linux culture in many ways meshes well with that of the Ham radio culture- being able to tinker with things, see how they work, make them work better.