Sails to sales after Blake request

By ADAM GIFFORD

A website management tool developed by an Auckland firm for blakexpeditions has been turned into a standalone product.

Greenwood Technology web services manager Greg Mikkelsen said Sir Peter Blake's first expedition to Antarctic waters in the Seamaster highlighted the need for a better way to get new content on to the internet.

"Sir Peter wanted to send rich graphics to the webmaster so the site could be updated daily," Mikkelsen said. "That meant using satellites to send big photos, which was taking hours and was incredibly expensive.

"Then the webmaster wouldn't know what hour of the day or night these things would be coming through to be processed."

Between the Antarctic and the Amazon journeys, blakexpeditions asked Greenwood to solve the problem. Its solution is now packaged as GT Communicator.

It combines a Windows 2000 client application, which simplifies the production of pictures and text, with a server-based "command centre", which automatically updates the website and sends out email notifications of the fact to subscribers.

A simple template allows the Seamaster crew to fill in their location, sea and weather conditions and log entries. They also enter a "teaser" message to be sent to the mailing list.

The application compresses images from upwards of 2MB to less than 100KB, and then mails words and pictures as a series of emails to the server.

The command centre adds the new text and picture of the day on the site, updates the photo archive and location map, sends out a teaser to the 35,000 people registered with the site and emails the full bulletin, with pictures, as a Word document to VIP members and sponsors.

Mikkelsen said GT Communicator could be used by event managers, race organisers, schools and universities, real estate firms and anyone else who needed to combine a constantly changing website with email updates.

Greenwood Technology

Blakexpeditions

Peter Blake, 1948-2001