Messages

481

Local Forecast / Weatherscan XL Emulator, January Release

« on: January 27, 2009, 06:00:34 AM »

I just wanted to let everybody here know that the weatherscan emulator is back up and running with this new January 2009 release. A partial update log and release notes/information are available in this thread here: https://twctodayforums.com/forums/index.php/topic,1913.msg82612.html I figured that I would drop a line in here since this is the most viewed forum here and hopes that nobody forgot about the project
Thanks everybody for your support!
cheers!

482

Latest Release Information / Emulator Release - January 2009

« on: January 27, 2009, 05:52:03 AM »

Sorry for the month delay on the promised release. I have been busy with work and other things to release the program in a timely manner, however since there is a great deal of weather out there today, i figure "putting it all together" now would be the most perfect time. There have been a great deal of changes since the last time any of the members have used the emulator, some of these are the following:
-You may re-ordering packages used, with this, you will only need to configure what you are going to use, instead of all objects! The "Up Next..." pages look cleaner because the renderer will dynamically make the frames used.
-Extended play doppler radars, the emulator will collect through continual usage a loop of 24 frames (2 hours). At first start, the emulator begins at 6 frames (half hour) and adds frames as its left running.
-Traffic data will be downloaded by the config server when the emulator is running. If the emulator is not being used for over an hour, traffic data will not be downloaded by the config server, and the emulator will display a "Temporarly Unavailable for 15 minutes" message.
-Semi-Self Provisioning, if you have a login to the config server, that is all you need to download the emulator and recieve the key needed to run the emulator. The key will be encoded when you run the emulator for the first time, or if the past key expired, by selecting "Get My Key" from the emulator's registration panel.

Three Major notes about this release:
1. I have no idea how to clear up this Windows Vista bug with a new installation, you MUST run the program, and "Set Affiliate" program as Administrator (by right-clicking). If anyone knows a way around this or a suggestion, drop that in here or shoot me a message.
2. You MUST uninstall the previous release of the emulator before installing this one, so make sure you save your affilate logo that you enjoy using!
3. If you have previously had the emulator installed before, you must follow these steps

Please check one thing, verify the emulator is running from C:\wsxl\wsxl.exe
if it is infact running from that location, goto start->run and plugin:
C:\wsxl\wsxl.exe unregister
a box will appear, requesting you to press [1] [2] [3] [ OK ]
then try the emulator again like normal.


How to enjoy this release:
1. Make your Package changes on the config server: http://copper.yi.org:21863
2. Make any additional changes, then build your configuration. (Link at the bottom of ' Review Cfg'n' page).
3. Download the emulator from the 'Download and Keys' page.
4. Set your Affilate ID (this is your login to the config server).
5. Run the emulator.

Final note:
If you recieve the Error box complaining about an expired key, select the "No" option to revert to the original default configuration. From there, you can "Get My Key".

If you do not have a login to the config server and would like to use this emulator, please contact Martin or me, and we will help you out!

483

Latest Release Information / Re: Emulator Release- Public Beta 1

« on: January 13, 2009, 12:43:31 AM »

Hang tight guys, I got this one comming out in the day or two.. I've been very busy over christmas with the load volume of customers to my place, and even after the new year, still had a load of customers.. The volume of people tires me out. I forgotten that I had this burden right before the holidays, so my scheduled date of december 20th was delayed. I appreciate the patience by many! Also, I had martin trial test the release and it appears to be functional, only need to do is pack it up into an installer and send it out

484

Help and Support / Re: Official Keys

« on: January 13, 2009, 12:42:45 AM »

Hang tight guys, I got this one comming out in the day or two.. I've been very busy over christmas with the load volume of customers to my place, and even after the new year, still had a load of customers.. The volume of people tires me out. I forgotten that I had this burden right before the holidays, so my scheduled date of december 20th was delayed. I appreciate the patience by many! Also, I had martin trial test the release and it appears to be functional, only need to do is pack it up into an installer and send it out

485

Local Forecast / Re: Satellite LF Sightings

« on: December 26, 2008, 12:13:35 AM »

12:10 AM = Intellistar Local Forecast running over commercials

for some reason it seems like someone in the master control room is manually triggering the local forecast when commercials begin.. best guess though..

you would think that someone in that room would notice on one of their monitors that the local forecast is playing outside of the typical time..

486

Local Forecast / Re: Satellite LF Sightings

« on: December 25, 2008, 11:23:03 PM »

i wonder why the traffic logo appears before the local forecast, but still shows the national feed..

487

News and Updates / Members Feedback Required for Project's Future!

« on: December 25, 2008, 05:28:23 AM »

Hey All and Merry Christmas!

First of all, before divulging into the core message of this topic, I would like to place some thanks out there. First I would like to thank Martin, my 'operations officer' for this project. Martin is a very enthusiastic member to this project who has actually kept me motivated in continuing to add new and neat features into an ever so classic product originally designed by an unknown visionary at The Weather Channel. Martin, who demonstrates great maturity at his age has helped oversee the day to day tasks of helping TWC fanatics with setting up and configuring the emulator. While undertaking that role, he has helped me stay focused on the programming aspect, which to my dismay to say is a very challenging task. I am glad to say that I have accomplished more of my goal in the last few months than I have done in possibly the entire life of the project, although each time period should be treated as equally challenging. He is not only a great asset to this project, but im sure to other TWC fanatic avenues as well.

Another person I would like to thank is Lee (LMolineux), whom (to my memory) I met on TWCC back in 2002, shortly later, I met him in person, and he shares my interest in TWC music, the technical aspect of weather, and my daily involvement in the business and sport of bowling. I have had good and bad times in my life, and thankfully hes been a consistent friend throughout the time. I also am more than greatful that he has elected me to be his best man in his wedding, to which im still somewhat speechless.

Other people who I would like to thank are my family and the people who I work with, who are my second family. Who (both) not only put up with my fixation with leaving the television on a single channel, but also share/understand my serious but somewhat sarcastic and comical personality.

Ultimately, I would like to thank YOU for reading and sharing your interest in this project! Without you, I would throw the shovel in and call it a day.

And yeah, Dave Schwartz, an original man that could never be replaced.

Anyway, onto the primary subject..
I created this topic to gain your feedback on the the overall feeling you have on the emulator, I would like you to score/elaborate on the following, using the most words you can:
-Initial Installation (How hard was it to get running?)
-Configuration (Is this easy/hard method to configure the emulator, using the cfg'n site?)
-Packages Available (Do they cater to your needs?)
-Technical Support (Do Martin and I help you in a timely manner, are we able to solve your problems?)
-Discouraging Factor (Does something about this program not want you to undertake setting it up or frustrate you?)
-Reusage Value (After your initial experience, how likely are you use the program again?)
-Personal Value (The most important, is this emulator worth or a waste of your time?)

After not seeing posts on the project's forums for quite some time, I am attempting to determine the future of this project. If there is anything I can do to revitalize the project, your feedback is most helpful! I need your feedback, sooner than later is most appreciated, although at your earliest convience is the best!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Healthy/Safe New Year!!
Brian

488

Local Forecast / Re: Satellite LF Sightings

« on: December 24, 2008, 10:19:53 PM »

10:18pm est, cues at 10:23pm
10:28pm est

btw-- i like that background on the 3day forecast

489

Programming and Graphics / Re: WWCH DVD Set To Be Released

« on: December 22, 2008, 08:42:57 AM »

Brian, you just have to understand that some of us have been watching TWC for a long time and are just not going to be pleased unless they take off all the long form and go back to good old fashioned weather. 

while i cant argue with you on that case because i have been watching twc since the early '90s and seen transition of changes throughout the course of the years, and some changes are rather better than others. what is certaintly a pain is tuning in while at work and a long form program is on and it takes greater than a half hour to see a detailed LF or an OCM narriated report. i generally watch WWCH after midnight anyway, its better than watching Adam Berg rant on about his love for football and also hearing him say: chooseday :-p

490

Programming and Graphics / Re: WWCH DVD Set To Be Released

« on: December 22, 2008, 02:33:03 AM »

i object! 
i cant understand why all of you are dissing the show..? i watch that series and i seem to find it (*ahem*) educational and informative. although i do find it quite excessive when they advertise the show before every local forecast.. although advertising is used to create an awareness of the program existing.. i do find that some of the other programs shown do lack some substance, whereas this show, they try to tie in weather's involvement in past historical events, even using some good historic visuals and re-enactment scenes to help rebuild the scene in history. in a nutshell, the program functions like this: the begining shows a quick synopsis of the entire show, then the historical pieces are explained, after that, the show explains how those historical pieces changed how our lives became impacted (like laws added, branches of government added or local/government procedeures added/changed).

491

Help and Support / Re: Issue- Pending Further Investigation

« on: December 22, 2008, 01:10:33 AM »

i find this actually funny more than serious.. i have seen alot of professional applications get caught by a virus program, and i will explain why this happens. apart of security news letters i have read in the past, people who are attempting to create a malicious piece of code that would normally be picked up by a scanner as a generic virus (like you found a route on the web and compiled it into your program) would cause your scanner to find it as virus or something in the regard as malicious. for the malicious people to counter the virus, they would use many methods to compress the code so your scanner wont find the virus. now for these days, some antivirus programs go the extra step and instead of looking for just the malicuious program, they now look at any possible compressor that could potentially lead to a malicious action. in the regards to the weatherscan emulator, it is infact compressed using a commerical software, solely for the use of copy-control and source protection. i do not use microsoft's sourcesafe to protect my code, i would also expect that while using sourcesafe, the program would function slower. with the current setup of the emulator, the executable is packed inside a shell, that when a valid key is supplied, it allows the emulator to run. also at the same time, it also monitors any attempt to copy the memory used by the emulator or any unpacking attempt and terminates itself from running, or even returns back a pile of useless garbage.

492

Latest Release Information / Re: Get your copy here!

« on: December 01, 2008, 07:35:16 PM »

   Martin & Brian, I'm a newbie to this forum. I'm from the TWC Classics forum. My name is Wesley, and I've been a Weather Channel fan since 1991. I downloaded your WeatherScan XL emulator setup file. Martin, I'm using your affiliate ID. Outstanding presentation on the emulator. Either one of you who may be reading this post, will one of you please give me the key needed to continue using the emulator along with customizing for my area? I would appreciate it. Thank you.

if you would like a key, please post in this thread:
https://twctodayforums.com/forums/index.php/topic,1610.60.html

currently as i am updating the configuration server and releasing a newer copy of the emulator, i am not adding new users to the system. in the mean time enjoy from the currently established user's accounts, then once i make the next release, then i will add more users.
thanks,
brian

493

Help and Support / Re: Key Issue

« on: December 01, 2008, 07:30:16 PM »

Hey Brian,
Here's my hardware fingerprint: BC00-E212

Thank you for your help.

try this:
Name: User
Key: 0H2BA7-P0WZXT-6MFYWK-89CWQN

let me know if this works

494

Help and Support / Re: Key Issue

« on: December 01, 2008, 01:57:54 AM »

After not using the emulator for a few days, I open it up as Administrator, and it says I need a key. I used my official key, but it rejected it and said, the name and key you have entered is invalid. So I just used the trial keys, which worked. After the trial key expired, I tried to use my official key again. So I went to set affiliate, put my log in name that is used to log in to the configuration site to see if that will fix it. I press OK and exit. I try to put my key in again, and it still rejects it. I checked my firewall settings, security settings, my hardware fingerprint, everything, and it all seems fine. I can't figure out why the program is rejecting my key.

what is your current hardware key, lets try to make another key for this..

495

Weatherscan Discussion / Re: Weatherscan Topic

« on: November 30, 2008, 11:31:54 AM »

digital basic is the lowest digital tier available on the box, it doesnt include weatherscan. the next tier above that is digital classic which includes most channels in the 100's, and that includes weatherscan. digital classic, without any other packages will include digital basic for all your local stations, music choice and such, but none of your standard channels below channel 100 (like food network)