Jen Oxelson, Unidata Web Developer

The Unidata Program Center is in the process of updating its website to fix bugs and improve user experience. The most notable changes will include revamping the mechanism that handles user registration and account management as well as site redesign.

User account management/registration

While this area of the website is being re-factored to fix bugs, it is a perfect time to incorporate more features that will enable website users to better manage their accounts. Here are some of the planned changes:

• Provide more helpful tips and validation during the registration process.
• Use a postal code database to automatically lookup other geographic location information (thus saving the user from having to provide this information).
• Highlight and provide necessary information for required form fields for GEMPAK & McIDAS access/support during registration process.
• Allow users to specify more than one email address for their account. (The email address is the unique way to identify users. This will allow users to /securely/ link/identify other accounts as belonging to one person. This is particularly helpful when dealing with mailing list membership.)
• Display the user's email list subscription information, as well as provide a mechanism for the user to change his/her subscription options
• Connect the user's download history to his/her mailing list subscriptions and make suggestions if the user is not subscribed to a list he/she might find helpful.

Website redesign

The new design will address known usability problems and provide features that will be both interesting and helpful to all users. Here are some of the planned improvements:

• Incorporate Google Trends into the site search and support pages to provide useful keyword suggestions in real time.
• Provide RSS feeds and PDF print-friendly page support for first and second tier pages.
• Provide an interactive calendar of events.
• Provide helpful "File Not Found" pages to provide user with options to find website content (Google Trends).

We'll look forward to your comments and suggestions when we go live with the redesign in mid-summer. Send suggestions to: support-plaza@unidata.ucar.edu.

A new UPC effort called RAMADDA, has been under active development since December 2007. It is an open data management framework that enables a data provider or a community of users to upload, manage and share large data holdings.It is designed to run in multiple contexts, ranging from local desktop use to real time and case-study data archives. Its HTML interface provides support for configuration, browsing, search, creation, update and management of the data repository. A Java library and web-service API supports integration with external data management systems, data provision services (e.g., THREDDS Data Server, TDS), and end-user clients (e.g., IDV). RAMADDA incorporates a number of rich information management facilities, including an extensible metadata framework, grouping, tagging, annotations, and associations. Based on an extensible Model-View-Control (MVC) framework, RAMADDA offers the ability to plug-in a variety of ways to access and deliver information - e.g., THREDDS catalogs, RSS feeds, and real-time event notification. While the THREDDS Data Repository (TDR) was developed to address functionality missing from the TDS, RAMADDA was developed to explore a database approach for managing and querying data collections. The UPC is currently exploring how best to move TDR, TDS, and RAMADDA technologies forward and to realize the benefits of their complementary functionality. Efforts include putting the TDR service interface in front of RAMADDA, and also creation of an interface and accompanying functionality that would allow a TDS to retrieve needed server side information from RAMADDA that is currently stored in THREDDS catalogs.

You can download and run an alpha version of RAMADDA: ramadda.0.1.tar, but be aware: this is a very early version of the software and is intended for demonstration purposes only. All bets are off as to its stability and functionality. More information available on the RAMADDA home page and in the Users Committee Status Report.

Mark Laufersweiler's presentation during the spring Users Committee's April 2008 meeting was an affirmation of his selection as the 2008 DeSouza Award winner. In addition to receiving the award during the meeting, Mark was asked to present a seminar detailing his use of Unidata tools and data products. His enthusiasm for the topic was evident. From his "conversion" to the use of Unidata tools, to his introduction of them in his labs and classrooms, to his service on the Users Committee and serving as chair of the 2003 workshop and continuing service on the IDV steering committee, he painted a word picture of an enthusiastic and knowledgeable user and contributor.

The presentation of the award during the spring meeting, and Mark's seminar on his involvement, are a departure from past practice where the award had been made in the context of the AMS Annual meeting, IIPS session. By focusing attention in a more personal venue, the Users Committee believes that it has found a satisfactory way to highlight the award and raise its visibility.The seminar was webcast allowing viewers to be "present" during the event.

You will find the citation for Mark's award at this location. As the eighth recipient of the award Mark joins a distinguished list of recipients.

The call for nominations for the award is usually announced near the end of each calendar year. You'll be reminded to watch for it and encouraged to nominate a community member whose contributions to the community meet the criteria.

AccessData Workshop

The AccessData workshop, sponsored jointly by NSF, TERC, Colorado College, and Unidata wound up in Portland, Oregon Saturday the third of May. Among other responsibilities, Unidata coordinated all of the logistical details for the event. The workshop provided the opportunity for data representatives, software tool specialists, scientific researchers, curriculum developers, and educators to interact with one another in a variety of sessions, all working toward the common goal of facilitating the use of data in education. Congratulations to staff member, Tina Campbell whose hard work paid off handsomely before, during, and after the event.

2008 Equipment Award Recipients

Three 2008 Equipment Award Recipient finalists were announced yesterday. They are:

• Loren D. White, Jackson State University, "Unidata Equipment Proposal to Upgrade the JSU Meteorology High-Performance Computing Lab"
• Dr. Christopher Herbster, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, "The Creation of a Community Resource for Weather Case Studies and Innovative Real-Time Weather Data for the IDD"
• Steven G. Decker, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, "Upgrading the Rutgers Weather Center to Meet Today's Needs"

Congratulations all around.

Regional Workshop

A Unidata Regional Workshop at Plymouth State University, slated for May 18-20, 2008, is fully subscribed. The workshop's theme is Unidata's Integrated Data Viewer. Unidata representatives will provide tutorials on IDV and discuss other Unidata projects and initiatives. Subscribed participants are a nice representation of the region, and it looks like the workshop is on target for a successful outcome. Way to go Plymouth State.