iWindsurf.com

From: George Haye (geohaye@hotmail.com-DeleteThis)
Date: Fri Apr 21 2000 - 00:13:52 PDT

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Message-ID: <20000421071125.74626.qmail@hotmail.com-DeleteThis>
From: "George Haye" <geohaye@hotmail.com-DeleteThis>
To: <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis>
References: <5B4894ECA4F9D31190FD0090274DCD0E14E84E@sfna-exmail1.3.1.10.in-addr.arpa-DeleteTh>
Subject: iWindsurf.com
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 00:13:52 -0700
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Dave and the gang,
Hey, I know that guy at iWindsurf.com who responded to you! Everyone please
do as Dave said - if you have feedback regarding iWindsurf.com -- let us
know!! We're a small group of windsurfers trying to put out a decent site,
and yes, we've got our work cut out for us. It's getting better every day,
though. As we are also SFO-fighters and Bay Savers, we have thick skin. So
send us all of your constructive comments! Either to support@iwindsurf.com-DeleteThis,
or you can send them to me george@iwindsurf.com.-DeleteThis Non-iWindsurf.com stuff,
including SFBA stuff, just send to my personal email address:
geohaye@hotmail.com-DeleteThis

(1) I agree that Call of the Wind (www.windcall.com) is an awesome site. As
a customer, I have always loved it. The same guys - Jim Martin in Ventura
and David St. John in Florida are leading our team to make the new site
(www.iWindsurf.com) even better than the CoW site. We will take everyone's
feedback and we will make sure that the new site is the best it can be.
There will be some changes though. One thing we have now are wind maps (you
can choose to view the wind maps or the wind graphs - whatever you prefer,
and your system will remember which view you prefer the next time you log
in), and as you noted, the Waddell, Natural Bridges, HMB, and Third Avenue
readings are not listed on the SF Bay - North map. Just hit the down arrow
on the wind Map or use the "Switch Region" feature on the left hand side and
choose SF Bay - South. The 3rd Ave crew, along with the HMB, Waddell,
Natural Bridges, and Palo Alto crews will be bookmarking the SF Bay - South
page. Why split it between SF-Bay North and SF-Bay South? Because we are
considering adding wind reports from the National Weather Service (buoys and
shore stations) and if we used only one geographical map for very large
regions with lots of windsurf spots such as the entire Bay Area, it would be
preposterously cluttered after all of the sensor readings (including
National Weather Service) are added in.

(2) I agree that it would be nice to have all of the wind reports available
on one quick-loading like the one we have on the Call of the Wind site. (Of
course, we now have wind reports for over 160 windsurf spots...) I want to
see an all-in-one page on iWindsurf.com, too - it's just a matter of
priorities. If you like that idea, just send us feedback...
(support@iwindsurf.com-DeleteThis)

(3) We are making a quick-loading lower-graphics version of our site.
Perhaps we'll call it "iWindsurf Lite". Folks with slower computers (like
me), people who just want the info quick & dirty (like me), and people who
prefer Netscape (like me) might prefer the quick-loading version. A little
less pretty, but for many of us, it may be the way to go.

(4) Right now, our site works better with PCs than with Macs. Right now, our
site loads faster with Internet Explorer than with Netscape Communicator. We
are working feverishly (honest.) on these items, but there are factors
within the browsers themselves that lead to these differences. I feel a
little sick when I have to report that IE works better than Netscape for our
site at the moment, but a fact is a fact. We have had a huge number of
people come forward and say that they found the site slow with Netscape but
fantastic with IE. It has been reported to us by customers that many other
websites are also much faster with Internet Explorer than with Netscape
Communicator. Under no conditions, however, are we telling people to use IE.
Just reporting the facts, while we seek solutions to the Netscape-slowness
problems.

[HEY, DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER/COMMUNICATOR! If you're also sick of
Microsoft, consider getting out a little steam by joining the battle against
another similarly unfriendly foe - SFO! We're looking to get over 1000
signatures on our Petition this weekend! The SFBA / Save The Bay petition is
designed to oppose State Bill 1562 which was brought to the California
legislature to help speed the unnecessary, Peninsula-wrecking, band-aid,
non-solution: the SFO pork-barrel runway expansion. SIGNING THE PETITION
will help in the effort to save windsurfing at Coyote Point, 3rd Avenue,
Oyster Point, Genentech / San Bruno Point, Marriott Flats, Embassy Suites,
Seal Point, and Old Third Avenue -- and will thus help keep the crowds from
swelling permanently at Crissy Field, Berkeley, Point Isabel, the Delta,
Waddell Creek, etcetera.. . The Petition will be at most of the local
windsurf shops this weekend (Sat & Sun). So, pay a visit to ASD, Helm,
Windsurf Warehouse, Cityfront, Boardsports Marin, and/or Berkeley
Boardsports. For more info on the SFO situation, send an email to me:
geohaye@hotmail.com-DeleteThis or Peter Thorner (Eyes4Hire@aol.com-DeleteThis), and/or see
www.sfba.org, www.ProtectOurBay.com, and www.savesfbay.org.]

Thanks for reading,
~George Haye
Work: iWindsurf.com - Santa Cruz: george@iwindsurf.com-DeleteThis
SFBA stuff & other stuff: geohaye@hotmail.com-DeleteThis

----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Hoagland <DHoagland@sfna.com-DeleteThis>
To: Multiple recipients of list <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis>
Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2000 4:22 PM
Subject: What is with this Iwindsurf forecast?

> If you liked COTW you might want to send your input to IWindsurf. I sent
> the original message to COTW and it was forwarded to IWindsurf who were
kind
> enough to reply.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Dave Hoagland
> > Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2000 3:56 PM
> > To: 'george@iwindsurf.com-DeleteThis'
> > Subject: Re: What is with this Iwindsurf forecast?
> >
> > You have your work cut out for you. I see I get a bar graph now when I
go
> > to the N. California winds speed page which is
> > better, yet you are missing Waddell, Half Moon B, Natural Bridges etc
and
> > the 3rd Ave guys are going to have a fit. COTW is still a lot cleaner
and
> > easier to read and understand at a glance.
> >
> > I have always thought COTW was one of the best designed and to me the
most
> > useful and functional of all websites. I don't
> > need the pager, I need accurate info on the web I can keep current on
my
> > desktop at work. It's great the way it updates and
> > everything is right there on one page without a lot of surfing around on
> > company time. It also loads very fast on my old machine
> > at home. I don't need any maps of local sailing sites or cluttered
> > graphics. I am more than happy to pay for this service but I
> > expect to continue getting the same level of service and ease of use.
Does
> > this merger mean COTW is going to disappear? If it
> > is you would do better to switch to their format entirely and put every
> > site on 1 or 2 pages with placemarks that you can
> > bookmark to within the page. Put the maps somewhere else.
> >
> > I am not going to use IE for any purpose on any of my machines. It's
been
> > uninstalled and I like Communicator. I don't think many people are
going
> > to respond kindly to that suggestion.
> >
> > Good luck.
> >
> >
> >
> > George Haye wrote:
> >
> > Hi Dave,
> > We appreciate your input. We're working on improving the speed and the
> > forecast presentation. We aim to make iWindsurf.com better than CoW
ever
> > was - and we know there's plenty to do to make things smoother.
> >
> > Here's our FAQ which answers some of your comments:
> > iWindsurf.com FAQ
> >
> > 1. What's iWindsurf.com? What happened to Call of the Wind and Wind
Hot
> > Line?
> > Call of the Wind has merged with Wind Hot Line to form
> > iWindsurf.com. Jim
> > Martin founded Call of the Wind in 1993 on the West coast and has been
> > providing wind information to wind-hungry boardsailors ever since.
> > Phillip
> > Atkinson's Wind Hot Line has been covering the East coast for over 15
> > years.
> > Jim, Phillip, and the rest of the Call of the Wind and Wind Hot Line
> > crews
> > are now working together under the name iWindsurf.com. A few new folks
> > have
> > also joined up and are stoked to be part of the group.
> > The new company, iWindsurf.com, is poised to add lots of new
> > wind sensors
> > and to expand forecast coverage to include all the windsurfing areas
in
> > North America. We are also providing detailed maps, directions, and
many
> > more useful features on our new website. The core essence of Call of
the
> > Wind continues - as our Wireless service enables the wind to call YOU
> > when
> > it's going off. And, the core essence of Wind Hot Line continues - as
> > our
> > Voice service allows you to quickly find out what the conditions are
> > like at
> > your favorite beach by a mere phone call. Many customers tell us that
we
> > have made their lives simpler and have saved them time & money and
have
> > enabled them to capture more great days on the water. But this is only
> > the
> > beginning - our national wind forecasts and extensive web content will
> > continue to create new reasons to say "iWindsurf.com". And, we're
trying
> > to
> > offer all of this to you at a reasonable and fair price.
> >
> > 2. Where can I change my password and/or my email address that I'm
using
> > with iWindsurf.com?
> > Click on the "My Profile" button which is located at the
bottom
> > of each of
> > our web pages.
> >
> > 3. The website loads slowly on my system. Why it that?
> > As a small company of windsurfers, we are doing our best, but
we
> > realize
> > that there is still much work to do. We are working on a low-graphics
> > version of our webpage for those for whom that could be helpful.
> > Also, one of the problems we've been encountering is that
> > Netscape users
> > are noticing substantial delays when navigating around our site.
> > iWindsurf.com is optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer. So far we
> > have
> > not been able to figure out a way to make Netscape work as smoothly as
> > Internet Explorer with our system setup. (We are using Microsoft
> > Internet
> > Information Server, SQL Server database, along with Cold Fusion. For
you
> > open-source folks, we tried using Linux, but after extensive thought,
> > chose
> > our current setup as the best set of tools for our small team.)
> > One short-term solution if you are getting delays with
Netscape
> > Communicator would be to download and use Internet Explorer -- at
least
> > for
> > the purpose of accessing our site. Internet Explorer can be downloaded
> > from:
> > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/windows.htm
> >
> > 4. Regarding the forecasts, why has the presentation changed?
> > As we have now moved to national wind forecasting, you will
> > notice some
> > changes in terms of how the forecasts are presented. Different parts
of
> > the
> > country may require slightly different formats. We appreciate your
> > feedback
> > in terms of what looks good to you and what doesn't, and what you
think
> > could improve this part of our service. We are working to make the
> > forecasts
> > more complete and better than ever!
> >
> > 5. Does the website use cookies?
> > Yes. In order for our system to recognize your username and
> > password,
> > cookies are required. It is possible to browse our site in a limited
> > manner
> > even with cookies turned off. However, we recommend setting your
browser
> > to
> > permit the use of cookies.
> >
> > 6. Why pay for a FX/Web membership when the wind speed info is free?
> > Yes, since we are now giving our real-time wind information as
> > part of our
> > Free membership, you might ask this question. Here's the answer: the
> > FX/Web
> > membership now includes premium forecasting services well beyond
> > anything
> > we've offered in the past. We are issuing forecasts 3x per day, and
they
> > are
> > better than ever! (The forecasts are free to all until May 1, then
> > you'll
> > need an FX or Wireless membership to get them.) Coming soon: (1) Wind
> > Alerts
> > to your email and/or pager when your favorite sites reach your chosen
> > threshold and/or when our forecasters predict an epic session; (2)
> > Onsite
> > reports; (3) Custom Home Page (with real-time wind and forecasts for
> > your
> > favorite sites; (4) Premium Forecast toolbox (including deeper
analysis,
> > weather models, swell info, links to water temp and water quality
info,
> > etc.) So, we think the $4/month for FX membership is well worth it.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > iWindsurf.com Support Team
> > E: support@iwindsurf.com-DeleteThis
> > Fax: (831) 438-3561
> > http://www.iwindsurf.com
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Dave Hoagland [mailto:bayrider@ix.netcom.com-DeleteThis]
> > Sent: Saturday, April 15, 2000 1:34 PM
> > To: support@windcall.com-DeleteThis
> > Subject: What is with this Iwindsurf forecast?
> >
> > Can you tell me how to get a BAY AREA forecast on that site? I liked
> > your format a lot better, that site is slow as hell and I don't want
to
> > have to click all over the map to get a forecast for each site. Why
> > can't there be one forecast for the entire Bay Area and coast like you
> > have always provided? Frankly their format is a pain unless I am
> > missing something. Your site is a lot better, why not stay with it?
> > --
> > "Watchin' the ships roll in, then I watch 'em roll away again"
> >
> > Name : Dave Hoagland /H\ /H\
> > E-mail: <bayrider@ix.netcom.com-DeleteThis> __/_H_\/_H_\__
> > H H
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > 'Watchin' the ships roll in, then I watch 'em roll away again'
> > Dave Hoagland /H\ /H\
> > Bayrider@ix.netcom.com-DeleteThis ___/_H_\_/_H_\___
> > H H
> >
> >
> >
>

Next message: George Linke: "Re: wind talk"
Previous message: Dave Hoagland: "What is with this Iwindsurf forecast?"
In reply to: Dave Hoagland: "What is with this Iwindsurf forecast?"
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