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Ever wished you could have professional looking, customized weather maps on your website?
Stop wishing - get Skymet!
Skymet is an application for METAR decoding and automatic weather map creation.
A METAR is a scheduled, coded meteorological report, issued by most large and many small
airports and heliports around the world. All in all there are well over 4000 METAR sources available worldwide!
These compact format meteorological reports are primarily intended for pilots so that they
can know the weather conditions of the airport they are landing at. Skymet
will automatically download this information from the Internet, decode the current
weather conditions and visualize this on a map, in a format understandable to everyone.
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Skymet map example, weather conditions in The Netherlands |
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DotNet technology
Skymet was developed using the Microsoft .NET technology and can
run on any Windows version which supports Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 or later.
The .NET Framework comes preinstalled on more recent editions of Microsoft Windows and
is also freely available for download from Microsoft's website in case your system does not have it installed.
.NET is compatible with all Windows releases starting with Windows 98, and is quickly
becoming the de facto standard framework for new applications developed for the Windows platform.
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| When purchasing Skymet you actually get two applications bundled: One is Skymet32
which will run as your everyday desktop application under the Windows platform, the other
is Skymet-W3, designed for stand-alone operations as an active server page
running under the Microsoft IIS webserver. |
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| If you have a website that supports Microsoft ASP.NET, Skymet-W3 can run unattended as an ASP
page in the normal server environment, just like your everyday Active Server Page. Skymet-W3 is optimized to
load fast and uses the webserver cache to minimize server and network loads. It also includes
an optional deep-linking prevention mechanism which can block other websites from displaying
your weather maps unless you explicitly give your permission. |
Skymet-W3 System Requirements:
• Microsoft IIS 5.1 or later with ASP.NET 1.1 or later
(Own server or web space with ASP.NET support) |
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Skymet32 runs on your Windows desktop and features automatic reloading of data and automatic FTP uploads.
Up to 11 maps and 500 weather stickers can be processed, rendered and uploaded at the same time.
You can upload your weather map images to any website which supports uploading via FTP. Skymet32 runs silently
in the background and will automatically refresh the weather data on the various maps and stickers
as well as upload the relevant files at preset intervals. Quick access to the Skymet32 user interface
is provided through its system tray icon. |
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Skymet32 main window with the Mouse-over METAR feature enabled |
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Skymet32 System Requirements:
• Microsoft Windows 98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
• Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 or later
• Windows NT 4.0 requires Service Pack 6a
Download a Skymet32 demo version from our Download page!
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| Click here for a map with
current weather conditions at various locations around the world. This world weather map sample
is included in the Skymet distribution package. |
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Common features
Configuration
Both versions of Skymet are configured through XML files. These XML files are platform independent, meaning that irrespective
of which Skymet version the XML file was made for originally, it will work with the other Skymet version as well without further modifications!
Background maps are easily set up using the supplied XMLGen utility program. Not
only will this handy little tool generate vital portions of the XML configuration
code for your weather map, it can also draw location markers in various shapes and sizes
on the background map for each station that you choose to include!
Sticker mode
New in Skymet version 1.3 is the support for sticker mode XML files. A sticker mode XML file will instruct
Skymet to print weather data for each METAR station on a separate sticker image, as opposed to printing this information
on a map grouped with weather data from other stations. This neat new feature allows you to create small, completely customized and very informative weather banners which will
always contain the most recent weather information. You can use any image as a sticker background image!
Sticker mode allows creation of site-specific weather stickers
For Skymet32, sticker mode XML files are processed in parallell to the normal Skymet maps so no functionality is lost
if you use this feature. In total you can have one sticker mode XML processed alongside 11 regular maps.
Skymet-W3 can process one regular map and one sticker mode XML for each running instance (virtual directory) of the program.
On-map information
Skymet can display the following weather data:
- Temperature (°C or °F)
- Wind direction
- Wind speed (m/s, km/h or mph)
- Percent relative humidity
- Barometric pressure (hPa/mb or inHg)
- Current sky conditions using weather icons
- Separate day and night time icons
- Significant weather conditions (SIGWX)
- METAR timestamp
Font faces, sizes and colors for the textual information on the map are fully configurable. The printed text can be
drawn with optional outlining in a color of your choice which can significantly improve the readability of your weather maps.
Significant weather conditions
Weather conditions that may pose a hazard to aviation are reported using special symbols.
If freezing precipitation such as rain, drizzle or freezing fog is reported at an airport, or
Cumulonimbus or Cumulus Congestus (towering cumulus) clouds have been observed, this will also
be reflected in the Skymet-generated maps and stickers.
Weather icons
Two sets of weather icons are included in the Skymet package. These icon sets,
used by Skymet to graphically present the current weather conditions, are completely replacable,
allowing you to customize your maps even further by supplying your own set of icons.
Day and night time icons
Skymet can compute the exact sunrise or sunset time for each METAR station that is shown on the map or, if the map
is covering a smaller area, a generic sunrise/sunset time can be computed for the entire map. Special icons
will be used where applicable to indicate whether it is daytime or nighttime.
Detailed user manual in PDF format
All aspects of Skymet usage and its features are explained in
the 46 page Skymet Software Operations Guide. This user manual includes a fully linked index, a
step-by-step tutorial and example XML code to help you learn how to prepare your own maps, and
a resources section with web links to various websites containing useful tools and information.
Once you have learned how to configure Skymet, the only thing you
need is to supply your own background map and then spend some time
on makning your weather map presentable and unique looking.
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Global usage and free data
Skymet works around the world, wherever you live! The weather data is obtained from a National Weather Service
server in United States and is completely free of charge. Note that there are no recurring charges when using Skymet!
By running either version (or both!) of Skymet, you will be able to provide your website visitors with an outstanding and
very much appreciated weather service.
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Availability
Skymet is available now and only via online purchase from our website! The complete software
package is around 1.5 MB and will be emailed to you (or you can choose to download it) as soon as your
order has been processed and you payment verified. In most cases you will
have received your Skymet copy within two (2) business days.
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Click here to order now! |
Please submit your questions to us via the contact form |
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