Update October 23, 2010: Release 3.0
Although it has been less than six months since the last release of Time Trek, this release is just as significant. Amos Alubala has rebuilt the Time Trek user interface (what you see) in a fairly new Adobe environment called Flex. Actually, Flex is a development framework that uses the industry-standard video and animated graphics technology, Adobe Flash. The advantage to you is that an interface built on Flex looks and behaves the same on any web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.), thus solving the long-standing problem of applications being displayed differently in different browsers.
We took this opportunity to also change the layout and color scheme of Time Trek, which we hope you find to be a big improvement. The console controls now feature a new horizontal slider bar for the timeline that is much easier to use and more intuitive than the old vertical slider. We have also added a new “People” category to the list that includes Events, Features, Photos, and Stations. There is a new control button, “Clear Map,” that allows you to completely clear all symbols currently displayed in the Google Earth viewport. Finally, the new balanced color scheme should be easier on the eyes and pleasing as well.
Note that it is important to update to the latest version of Adobe Flash Player on your computer to be sure that everything runs properly. Follow the directions below under ‘What You Need to Run Time Trek’ to do this.
As of this release, we have retired the Static Map version of Time Trek. Static Map was meant to give users with older computers unable to run Google Earth a means to access the information contained in Time Trek. We believe that audience is now so small that to continue supporting this version is no longer justified. If there are users that are adversely affected by this change, please let us know.
Now that the structure and look of Time Trek is where we want it to be, we will resume adding the content. That, after all, is where the real value is. This will be an ongoing process.
As always, let us know what you like and don’t like about Time Trek by emailing the webmaster at webmaster@antarctican.org.
What is Time Trek?
"Each man's memory is his private literature" - Aldous Huxley
Time Trek is a unique web-based interactive application that is developed and supported by The Antarctican Society for the benefit and pleasure of all Antarcticans. It combines a timeline and three-dimensional mapping with information about historical events, stations (bases), geographic features and digital images. "Events" are broadly defined in Time Trek to mean anything that can be associated with a time and place.
The purpose of Time Trek is to preserve and present Antarctic history in the context of both time (the timeline) and place (the mapping). The user is given the tools to navigate forward and backward through time to explore what happened, where it happened, who was involved and how it looked and felt. This includes not only well-known major events in Antarctican history, such as the race to the Pole between Amundsen and Scott, but also the recollections and documentation of "ordinary" Antarcticans who have participated in the rich adventure of science and exploration on the Last Continent. In Time Trek you will find stories, papers, letters, photos, audio, video and other momentoes contributed by and about people both famous and not-so-famous. It is a place to share with the world the experiences and historical accounts that have inspired an emotional connection to this vast, wonderful place in so many of us.
Many of the event descriptions in Time Trek are reproduced with the permission of the author from 'A Chronology of Antarctic Exploration' by Robert K. Headland, published by Bernard Quartich, Ltd., 2009 (2nd Edition). The Antarctican Society expresses its appreciation to Mr. Headland for his generosity in allowing us to quote from what is widely recognized as the definitive comprehensive work on the history of Antarctic exploration.
The other data in Time Trek are meant to enhance and give context to the events information. "Stations" documents the continuously-occupied outposts of human habitation on the continent, dating from the earliest such bases. Each station has descriptive information derived from various sources. "Features" contains the complete Antarctic Geographic Names Data Base maintained by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) through the Australian Antarctic Data Centre. "Photos" includes personal photographs contributed by Antarcticans as well as aerial and terrestrial photos obtained with permission from various sources. “People” contains short biographies of people who have participated in the events portrayed in Time Trek or who have had notable involvement in Antarctica.
The mapping function of Time Trek is fulfilled by incorporating Google Earth. Time Trek takes full advantage of both the power of Google Earth and the incredible storehouse of aerial imagery that it provides. All of the pan, zoom, interrogate and fly-through tools of Google Earth are available to Time Trek users. It literally opens a whole new mapping dimension - the third dimension! As Google adds new imagery and improves the tools, these enhancements will be automatically available to Time Trek users.
What You Need to Run Time Trek
NOTE: This version of Time Trek should work with all major browsers (Microsoft IE, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Google Chrome). Please report any problems encountered while using any of these browsers to the webmaster at webmaster@antarctican.org.
Computer Configuration
Google recommends the following computer configurations to run Google Earth:
Windows PC Systems:
- Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
- CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz+ or AMD 2400xp+
- System Memory (RAM): 512MB
- Hard Disk: 2GB free space
- Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec
- Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM
- Screen: 1280x1024, "32-bit True Color"
Apple MacIntosh Systems:
- Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5.2 or later
- CPU: G4 1.2Ghz
- System Memory (RAM): 512MB
- Hard Disk: 2GB free space
- Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec
- Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM
- Screen: 1280x1024, "Millions of Colors"
"Recommends" really means "minimum" for a satisfactory experience. This application definitely requires a high-speed internet connection (cable, DSL etc.).
Downloads Needed for Time Trek
In addition, the following plug-ins are required to be downloaded and installed on your computer (click on the links below to download and install).
If a message pops up saying "save or run?" click on "run."
This is the only module you need to run the Google Earth viewport in Time Trek. Installing is simple: just click on the link above ("Google Earth API Plugin") and it will be taken care of automatically. If you don't have the plugin already installed, the Google Earth website page will sense this and do it without any action on your part! You will know that it is done when you see the standard Google Earth "blue marble" globe appear in the small insert window on the web page. That's it! Actually, any time you visit any web page that needs the plugin to run properly, it will be automatically downloaded and installed for you.
This is a plug-in that is already installed on more than 98% of the computers in the world. It allows documents formatted in Adobe PDF to be opened on your computer. If it is already installed on your computer, a warning message will appear on your screen when you click this link. You can cancel at this point or go ahead and replace it if the one you have installed is an older version.
This plug-in allows certain video and animated graphics to run on your computer. It is also commonly installed on personal computers. If it is already installed on yours, you will see the same type of warning mentioned above for Adobe Reader, and you can respond in a similar way. It is highly recommended to install the most current version.
Time Trek is programmed by Amos Alubala.