Site Updates

Since our model system is more efficient than our old one, which no longer operates, the system has been running every half hour during the offseason. This means that data for 90L is coming through as it would if it were during the regular season.

Meanwhile, work on our new layout continues. I took the last week, and will take several more days, to work on creating something not related to this site. I am creating something that web developers can use for a site layout when building CSS based websites. Rather than use table tags for layout I am now starting to use pure CSS. I am creating a little generator that web developers can use when building their site to do that. That feature is something that will help me in the future as well. It will help finish the site layout for the model system. There are no changes planned for the model system right now, just updating it so that the layout matches the rest of our site. I may add some graphical charting of various data in the future however, but that would be later in the year as I want to redo the recon system first.

Our site has unveiled a new layout. The new layout has been designed so that it can work in Internet Explorer (IE) 7 and above. I'm not sure what it will look like in previous versions. Older versions have serious security risks (Even Microsoft wants you to stop using IE6 and earlier: http://www.ie6countdown.com/), so I didn't worry about making the site work in IE6 or older. Special code helps to make the new layout work in IE7. Some of the new features that will be coming to the recon system later this year will only work in IE9. (More powerful Google Maps mapping for individually decoded messages) The bad thing about that is that IE9 cannot be installed on Windows XP and earlier, which a lot of people have. The good news, the new features should work in other browsers regardless of what operating system you have. (Hint, hint... Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, etc.) If your browser can't use the full power of the new features, it still allows you to use the product without the new features that would not work but does still have some new features that would work. The recon system will be something that I will get back to in February. It will likely be March or later before I get an idea of whether I can bring the live system efficiently enough into Google Maps to make it possible for us to offer without it crashing our site.

First, more changes will be coming as our site's model system will also be getting the new site layout, likely in the next week or two. There will also be some other changes behind the scenes to that system, though there will be no new features. Some old working files get left on rare occasions and I want to try to write something to fix that. I also want to do some code cleanup. The updates to the system will likely add another configuration file for each basin so that the site layout can be more easily managed across basins, one each for the Atlantic, East Pacific, and Central Pacific. Eventually, this script will be available again to media organizations. I just need to make it easier to work with. That was the goal but the new system is becoming as sprawling as the recon system, though thankfully the model system, unlike the recon system, was built to be as manageable as it can be and for the features it has, it's not impossible for media organizations to customize.

Today I retired our old logo which had been around since June 2006 when our site first started.



The old logo still appears in places but it will eventually be replaced everywhere. The new logo appears below with some of the logos for some of our other current and future sites.



The site is probably going to get more and more unorganized over the next few months before it starts to get better. Throughout 2012 the site will undergo a complete makeover, along with many features that will be redesigned. I hope to have a lot of it done in six months and then start to develop and test new features in the last half of the year. But, that's a long way away yet. Testing continues to go well on the redesign to the existing Google Maps areas of the recon system. It is still not yet available to the public however and that might still be a long time away. The recon system is going to undergo a massive redesign. While the Google Earth mapping will remain the same, the changes to the other areas will be considerable. A lot of it will be behind the scenes as I attempt to consolidate the recon system so that it is more portable to other sites that are approved to use it. I also have some plans to make it more efficient. I might hold off on releasing any changes to it until I am ready to replace it with the new version.

Behind the scenes a lot of work is under way on revising some of our products. To start off 2012 I will be redesigning the recon system. To what extent I don't know yet, but work has been under way for many months. The recon system has always needed a redesign. It also needs to be centralized enough that it can be easily adapted to other sites that I allow to use it. Not only for other sites, but for our own sites as well, like the East/Central Pacific and West Pacific recon systems at Tropical Globe. The only enhancement I know will be released for sure is the Google Maps mapping that is available for a single decoded message. It might be awhile before that gets released, but the enhancement does work. Unfortunately it will only work in newer browsers because the technology used in part of the new mapping system uses the <canvas> element in HTML5. For Internet Explorer users, you must have version 9 or higher. For those running Windows XP, which does not run IE9, you will not be able to use the new features unless you use another browser. I must create an alternate version, like the really basic version that exists now in our Google Maps system, so that older browsers can show the mapping. Basically, I am trying to extend some of the features available in Google Earth or the Google Earth Plugin to Google Maps. And eventually, though I do not know if it is feasible yet, I hope to be able to have the live recon system run in Google Maps. I will likely not know for months if that will be feasible. That will take many months to try to develop as there is a lot to consider when it comes to trying to do that. It is important to note that the Google Earth recon system will probably not be undergoing any changes. After that, it is on to trying to develop a system to handle NHC advisories, which I have had nearly done for five years. It's all about trying to get the NHC cone to work right. And looking even more into the future, like years into the future, we just bought a couple new domains: Tropical West Pacific (simply links to our West Pacific recon decoder, available only when we are notified of recon) and Tropical Indian (it will be at least years before this site has a chance of being developed). So that is a preview of what is in development for 2012 and beyond. Have a suggestion? Contact us!

Travel back in time all the way to 2007 to see some of our site updates.