DIFAX (fwd)

===============================================================================
Robb Kambic                                Unidata Program Center
Software Engineer III                      Univ. Corp for Atmospheric Research
address@hidden             WWW: http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/
===============================================================================

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 15:43:46 -0400
From: Richard Clark <address@hidden>
To: "'address@hidden'" <address@hidden>
Subject: DIFAX

 <<Re: TO USERCOMM>> 
 

To UserComm Members:

Yesterday I met with Linda Miller, Tom Yoksas, Jeff Weber, and Russ Rew
to discuss the difax issue. With the demise of Alden, the fate of difax has
taken center stage. You may have noticed a flurry of related email if you
subscribe to an appropriate email list.  I believe that an appropriate
response from the UserComm would help to quell some of the confusion and
offer alternatives.

Difax will cease sometime in April, six months after an official
announcement, which is expected to occur by the end of this month. Alden's
demise accelerates the need to issue a reminder to the user community that
difax will also soon disappear. With Alden gone, the difax user community is
searching for alternatives. In my opinion, for some, there is a
misconception that the map wall will be compromised without difax.  As you
know, this doesn't have to be. The UserComm can help to dispell this
misconception and provide the alternatives compiled by Jeff Weber that
direct users to sites were scripts can be obtained to generate difax-like
maps. These alternatives can be found at www.unidata.ucar.edu >> community.
Jeff is also working on an arrangement whereby difax-like maps will be
produced by the University of Wisconsin and made available to the community.
This latter arrangement, which appears to be very straightforward and
probably suitable to many, is still fluid. Test sites are being established
today to see how it works, and we should have some assessment by the middle
of next week. I'll be in touch.  

In our message to the community, users need to be reminded that the days of
difax are limited, and that any alternative that relies on the difax feed
will terminate. Some users are likely to experience problems getting
everything to work properly, so Unidata can offer to provide support during
the transition.

If UserComm members can offer any suggestions or modifications to this plan
to inform the user community in this manner, please let Linda or me know
asap. We would like to send something out from the entire user community
explaining these alternative by the end of next week (20 Oct).

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Rich Clark







Linda Miller - address@hidden
External Liaison, Unidata
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
P.O. Box 3000
Boulder, CO 80307-3000
303 497-8646 fax: 303-497-8690
URL:  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/lmiller/un.act.html
 <<Re: TO USERCOMM>>

--- Begin Message ---

• Subject: Re: TO USERCOMM
• Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 01:45:07 -0400

Hi Linda:

How about something like what follows, pending any new information from NWS.
Speaking of new information, the statement, "..... namely, everything
disappears,
including the Web maps!" sounds like new information. Does this mean that
the
alternative to ftp maps from the NOAA site will not produce a postscript
product
equivalent to difax? Does this eliminate this alternative?

To UserComm Members:

Yesterday I met with Linda Miller, Tom Yoksas, Jeff Weber, and Russ Rew to
discuss
the difax issue. With the demise of Alden, the fate of difax has taken
center
stage. You may have noticed a flurry of related email if you subscribe to an
appropriate email list.  I believe that an appropriate response from the
UserComm
would help to quell some of the confusion and offer alternatives.

Difax will cease sometime in April, six months after an official
announcement,
which is expected to occur by the end of this month. Alden's demise
accelerates the
need to issue a reminder to the user community that difax will also soon
disappear.
With Alden gone, the difax user community is searching for alternatives. In
my
opinion, for some, there is a misconception that the map wall will be
compromised
without difax.  This doesn't have to be. The UserComm can help to dispell
this
misconception and provide alternatives compiled by Jeff Weber that direct
users to
sites were scripts can be obtained to generate difax-like maps. These
alternatives
can be found at www.unidata.ucar.edu >> community.

The user community should be reminded that the days of difax are limited,
and that
any alternative that relies on the difax feed will terminate. Some are
likely to
experience problems getting everything to work properly, so Unidata can
offer to
provide support during the transition.

I will be meeting again with Linda tomorrow to compose a response to the
user
community. If you can offer any suggestions or modifications to the plan to
inform
the user community in this manner, please let Linda know asap. We would like
to
send something out from the UserComm early next week. Please let us know if
you
agree with this action so we can move forward.

Sincerely,
Rich Clark

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--- End Message ---