[MW Forums]

If you’re interested in weather or geography, you absolutely must own 3D Weather Globe & Atlas 1.1. It will change the way you think about our small blue marble in space. more

[shadowself]

I hate these programs and data sources which talk about being real time when it comes to imagery of the globe or of the weather!!!! None of the current systems are real time!
The best system out there is the U.S. GOES system and it is -- at best -- updated every 7 minutes. On average it is updated every 22 minutes. Sometimes updates don't happen for over 3 hours! This all assumes normal operations. If there are any outages due to severe weather over the ground station or an anomaly on the satellite or in the ground station (which occasionally happens) then the updates could take several hours.
The systems in the rest of the world update every half hour at best. Most update only once per hour. Some only update once per day!
If you are really interested in looking at truly real-time weather and global imagery look at
http://www.astrovision.com
That system should be up within the next 30-36 months. It will be truly real-time with updates every second!
If you want truly real-time demand it.
Don't call the current systems real-time when they definitely are NOT.

[MacKiev]

Just for the record, the weather data and forecasts for 3D Weather Globe & Atlas are updated worldwide every fifteen minutes. We do not use free internet sources. Our data is provided by CustomWeather (www.customweather.com), an award-winning San Francisco weather services company who provide weather data to Reuters and other leading news organizations. We have a five-year contract with CustomWeather to make sure that the data-stream for the 3D Weather Globe & Atlas remains rock solid.
As you point out, there are attempts out there -- all at least 3-5 years away from being operational -- to provide weather that's updated every few seconds rather than every few minutes. As the technology improves, we'll do our best to make sure that our 3D Weather Globe & Atlas will be upgraded to take advantage of it.
Jack Minsky
President
Software MacKiev

[shadowself]

I am very aware of CustomWeather. They are a good group.
However, them updating their output every 15 minutes is useless if the data source is updated every 7 minutes to 3 hours. No one has better data than is available from the current satellites. Updates over Europe are every half hour to hourly (depending on conditions)... no better than that because the satellites are no better than that. Any update that claims to be better than that is merely an extrapolation from the last imagery. It is what is often called "Now Casting" -- i.e., forecasting the current conditions based upon what has been available from the past series of images and data which could be as old as 3 hours ago. How good is an extrapolation two hours and 45 minutes after the last real data/imagery update?
The issue I was raising has absolutely nothing to do with "free internet sources". It has to do with the "real time" issues of the underlying data. The underlying data is not truly real-time. Thus no system based upon the current data and imagery can be truly real-time. Even NASA, NOAA, the U.S. National Weather Service and the U.S. DoD weather services (e.g., AFWA) don't get their data/imagery any more often than is available from the satellites.
True, this AstroVision group may not have its system operational for 3 years or more. They claim they expect to have it up sooner than that, but time will tell.
The issue I was pointing out is the falacy of organizations claiming "real time" when the updates and underlying data are most definitely not.
If you want a truly real-time system it will take something like that planned by that AstroVision company. Misleading the public by claiming real tiime information when the underlying data is as much as 3 hours old is improper. Claiming it is real time when it is an extrapolation of old data is improper.
It leads to people believing things like what was portrayed in the movie "Enemy of the State" is real. It's not.
There is no current truly real-time system out there. To say otherwise is wrong.
If you want truly real-time then demand it. Push for a system like that proposed by the AstroVision team.

[uchuugaka]

the only way to have a closer to real-time system (affordably)
would be to link the local doppler radar systems and such (not jsut satellite stuff)
thereby creating a moredetailed network, albeit a bit more detailed in some areas than in others.

[ZeroDark30]

Technically, "real-time" = NOT.
Operationally, = WAY TO GO.
I really appreciate each step forward, and especially the care and consideration put into this product - I'm definitely checking it out.
3-5 years for poorly-defined promises is like waiting for the Grail-like reward of Longhorn instead of getting my work done now with the Mac/PC tools I have now.
You'll be getting my 40$.
Regards,
CBS

[ghmetcalfe]

The only TRUE real-time weather system is your own senses. Sounds like it's time to step outside, get a breath of fresh air, take a look at the weather. :-) BTW, I have this software on my iMac G5...it's a great piece of software and the rendering is wonderful...good job.

[rohan90483]

All in all, MacKiev writes some of the best software for the Macintosh platform, at least for the education sector. I've used this program, KidPix 3, and PrintShop. MacKiev always seems to write rock-solid code and they consistently follow Apple GUI guidelines, perhaps more so than even Apple. I've always found their tech support via e-mail fast and efficient. I only wish the company would start writing software for other applications besides edutainment. Seems like the OmniGroup and MacKiev are some of the only extremely good developers exclusively for the Macintosh out there.

[ubrgeek]

How come I've tried emailing your company three times and never once gotten a response? I've been waiting and waiting for information on the tiger upgrade for 3D weather... Not what I'd call good support.
-j