Release 1.32 6/5/96 notes... The internet is changing quickly! Version 1.31 broke due to a WWW site change where PMWeather was getting it's images. Version 1.32 fixed the problem for now. Also, please note: The site providing the text forecast is warning that it may soon close to the public. Free weather information is getting harder to find, so... I am pursuing subscription service providers as a source for weather information. To use this kind of service you will be required to subscribe with the information provider before this function will work. (One provider I checked on is only $5.00/mth and will be able to provide 15 minute NEXRAD updates.) Also, I will be adding support for personal links you find on the internet. If your local TV WeatherMan has a Web page with current weather maps, these changes will allow you to setup PMWEATHER to list these maps. Think of it like setting up quick-links in a Web Browser. Thanks for your patience as PM-Weather evolves, David ---------- End 1.32 Notes ------- PMWeather 1.32 1996 by David DuPre' Distributed by Lookout Mountain Technologies INTRODUCTION: PMWeather is a shareware program that allows you to view weather reports and forecasts. Using your Internet connection, you will be able to read the latest weather reports and view the current Radar and Satellite images. Schedule the download to happen automatically and have PMWeather make your weather image of choice become the Desktop background. Now you won't have to remember all those unusual Internet addresses. Just point and click. PMWeather is only $19.95! ABOUT David DuPre' : I have been involved with computers since I was a Sophomore at Balboa High School in the Panama Canal Zone. In 1978 we called it the Canal Zone. I learned to program on Wang 2200 programmer workstations in Wang Basic. I am, as of April 1996, an Associate Systems Programmer for a large financial institution supporting approximately 100 OS/2 LAN Servers with 1500+ OS/2 workstations. REGISTRATION/ORDERING INFORMATION: PMWeather is shareware---or try before you buy software---which means that you can freely distribute PMWeather, but that you have to pay the registration free ($19.95) if you use it. Shareware is based on trust---authors rely completely on the honesty of their users. It is up to users like you to keep it alive. Some users do not send in their fees thinking that others will send in their fees. But in reality, every user is kind of a barometer of everyone else. If you do not send in your fee, most likely, others will not send in their fees. If users do not send in their fees, shareware authors will stop producing quality software. We will all lose in the end if we do not support shareware. If you choose not to register, please copy this program and give it to a friend who hasn't seen it. Or assist with the distribution by uploading this program to your local BBS. Distribution is authorized as long as the shareware archive isn't changed. When I receive your registration for PMWeather, I'll send you the most up-to-date (the version you're currently using may be old) registered version eliminating the opening shareware registration notice and the "Unregistered" window titles in PMWeather. You'll also be entitled to comprehensive, unlimited FREE support from the author by mail, E-mail, fax, and phone. (Phone call support provided: Callbacks from me will be somewhat limited as the registration fee for shareware doesn't generate very much income. Please feel free to call me, number below.) How to Register: We believe that perhaps the best way for us to show you our appreciation for your order is to make the registration process as easy as possible! You can register by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone fax, E-mail, or mail. We gladly accept checks, and money orders, and P.O. Orders. Checks and money orders should be made payable to Lookout Mtn. Technologies and drawn on a US Bank in $US. We will also accept cash, although we recommend that you wrap it in paper so that it doesn't get "lost" on the way! Ordering by Phone: We're open 8 - 5 EST, Monday - Friday for your convenience. After these hours you can leave a message on the answering machine. Call Lookout Mtn. Technologies at 423-821-1676 Ordering by Mail: To order by mail, print the ORDER.TXT file and mail it to: David DuPre' Lookout Mtn. Technologies 912 Shingle Rd. Chattanooga, TN. 37409 Ordering by Fax: We welcome your fax orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just fax your name, address, credit card information, and the name(s) of the product(s) you'd like to order to: 423-821-5301. You can also fax us a copy of the ORDER.TXT file. Ordering by E-mail: We can accept E-mail orders through the Internet. Just send your name, address, credit card information, and the name(s) of the product(s) you'd like to order to: Internet: dupre@cdc.net (Feel free to E-mail us a copy of the ORDER.TXT file as well.) Ordering by P.O. Order: We welcome P.O. Orders by mail, fax, or E-mail. Pricing & Shipping Options: PMWeather is only $19.95! If you'd like to order more than 10 copies, please contact us for site license and volume discount information. Shipping and handling is $5 per order for addresses in the US and Canada, and $7.50 for international shipping. Overnight shipping: Call Lookout Mtn. Technologies at 423-821-1676 for details. PMWEATHER DOCUMENTATION: Installing PMWeather is easy. If you received this file in a compressed format such as the zip file format (zip files end with .zip), you'll first need to decompress the program with UNZIP or PKUNZIP. UNZIP is available on the internet for download. If you have trouble finding it access my WWW page at "http://www.cdc.net/~dupre/home.html" Also on my page are lots of OS/2 related sites. Copy the file to a subdirectory like \PMWEATHR, you can use any drive, in this example we will use 'C:'. C: CD\PMWEATHR UNZIP PMWTHxxx.ZIP where 'xxx' is the version number of the program INSTALL.CMD After completing the INSTALL.CMD you should have some ICONs on the desktop. Alternate Method: 1. Open the DRIVES ICON, 2. Open the drive, and directory where you UNZIPed the files, 3. Double-click the INSTALL.CMD file. file from the command line. This installer will check the current drive and directory and create a desktop ICON that points to the program. This ICON can be moved to another folder (drag+drop) without problems. Note: If you are using 4OS2 then you might have a problem with the ICONS. Try starting the program PMWEATHR.EXE from an OS/2 Window after switching into the subdirectory. To Configure PMWeather, do nothing, if you are dialed into the internet it is ready. There are some settings you can change if you like. One the screen, after the shareware notice, there is an option button. This will let you configure how often you would like your selections to be refreshed. There is also a selection for how you would like a bitmap to display on you OS/2 Desktop. There is a button on the Image Viewer screen that will set your desktop background to the image in the viewer. City forecasts: Select a city from drop down box and click the "FORECAST" button. City Radar Imagery: Select the city you wish to view. Select the kind of image you wish to view. It will download as soon as you make your selection. Then it will automatically refresh at the interval you selected in the OPTIONS window. Fonts: Drag and drop fonts from the "Font Palette". These font changes are saved when you exit the program so you won't have to do it again. Using PMWeather: PMWeather is undoubtedly one of the easiest to use programs for OS/2! Once you're connected to the Internet, just double-click on the PMWeather icon. (If you're not connected to the Internet, PMWeather will let you know that it can't initialize the Socket interface. It will show lots of other error messages too.) BETA TESTING: I'm always looking for good beta testers, and all registered users are more than welcome to join our beta testing team. Beta testers are an invaluable part of the development process. As a beta tester, you'll not only help me find bugs in my software, but also discuss new features and make suggestions that guide the development of our products. I currently do all my testing on the internet. Please see my home page for details. http://www.cdc.net/~dupre/home.html To join our beta testing team, just send an E-mail message to David DuPr‚ dupre@cdc.net with your name and address so that I can confirm that you're a registered user. TECH SUPPORT: Technical support is available to all users of PMWeather at no charge. Please contact us if you have any problems with or questions about PMWeather. We're also very open to suggestions for improvements to the program. [Reminder: PMWEATHER is a viewer of information from the internet. The author has no control over the content, nor availability of the information being viewed. That being said, if I can fix the viewer to see the information I will.] You can also contact us by phone at 423-825-1941. Leave a message with your question or problem. Please be sure to leave your EMAIL address, just in case I can't return your call at a decent hour. Faxes can be sent to 423-825-1267. My Email address is: dupre@cdc.net. Of course, you can also send mail to us at: David DuPre' c/o Lookout Mtn. Technologies 912 Shingle Rd. Chattanooga, TN. 37409 ----------- Changes from .085 to .118 beta release -------- 1-18-96 Made Forecast window sizeable. Delete old GIF just before writing out the new one. Added support for saving customer selections and fonts. (Bug discovered in .118 code. Was using HPFS filename and it didn't save user settings on FAT file systems.) Added more cities, fixed some problem entries. Made download more stable. ---------- Change in Version 1.20 1-21-96 ---------- Multi-threaded the downloads. Now you can cancel if it is too slow. Auto-Update function added. Refresh is automatic for forecast and images. Desktop background bitmaps can be Scaled, Tiled, or Normal. Save User Settings, really works now. Was broken in version .118. Other Misc. bugs. ---------- Change in Version 1.21 1-21-96 ---------- Some user settings still not being saved. Should be resolved now. Enable button in Options Window didn't save and restore. ---------- Changes in Version 1.30 2-7-96 ---------- Added: - more US cities to the list - ForeCast Printing capability. - Menu's (File, Edit, Help, About) - Error handler routine. Various minor bugs were fixed. ---------- Changes in Version 1.31 3-20-96 ---------- Changed: - Image Window to be a separate thread. - Added Weather Robot to the distribution ZIP file. - Added option to save the image to a file, click mouse button two on image. Various minor bugs were fixed. ---------- Changes in Version 1.32 6-5-96 ---------- Changed: - Image Window to contain option for printing, this is an untested feature. - Text Forecast printing routine changed. - Changed image viewer to support new changed to WWW site providing weather images. - Changed forecast viewer to support new changes to Gopher site providing forecast information. - Minor bug fixes. ---------- Changes in Version 1.34 9-10-96 ---------- Changed: - Text forecast viewer to access another source. --------- Changes planned ---------- Delete or clean-up old image files at program completion. Provide command line options to automate download of preffered text and images. Firewall support International Weather information