Launch of Brecon Beacons National Park Authority website

The new website of the Brecon Beacons National Park, designed by One Bright Space, is an attractive new portal for the park which boasts a number of exciting features.

Perhaps most interesting of these features are the two live webcams broadcasting footage from around the park twenty four hours a day, with an option for users to download a one minute time-lapse of the day's footage. In addition to this unique feature, the site contains live weather forecast information, invaluable to those planning their day out in the park.

Another useful tool is the interactive map, showing areas of common land within the park, as well as detailed information on rights of way. This map is fully integrated with the Park Authority's Rights of Way management system, also designed by One Bright Space, and any updates to the Rights of Way Manager are automatically reflected in this interactive map.

As well as being a great portal for potential visitors to the park, many of the site's strengths also lie in its flexibility in terms of content management. With over 30 content editors regularly modifying and contributing to the website, this is an important feature.

Not only does the site connect to intranet sites and share calendar information and timetables, it is also fully integrated with the organisation's intranet-based image library. The easy-to-use content management system has a number of useful features to facilitate broader participation in the running of the site, notably an online image cropping tool and full content versioning.

Working with the Welsh Assembly Government to help develop MyCarto online GIS system.

MyCarto is an intranet web-based GIS framework being built by the Welsh Assembly Government to allow civil servants to make better use of geospatial information. One Bright Space, with their experience in GIS technologies and web-based interface skills, have been approached to help develop this new product.

New member of OBS team

One Bright Space has been expanded recently with the arrival of a new member of the team - Martin Jones.

As well as having extensive skills in a broad range of software and operating systems, Martin has considerable experience in the I.T. industry. Though he has previously worked as an I.T. technician and a web consultant for Kinetic PLC, he credits running his own web development company for a number of years as being most significant in terms of learning to understand customers who often have very different needs.

Having gained a BA and MA in Geography, Martin has a keen interest in the development of Geospatial technology, and his comprehensive knowledge in this field will be an important asset in the continued development of this technology by One Bright Space.

Launch of Monitor Cymru

Monitor Cymru is a press monitoring system developed specifically for Strata Matrix which enables customers, such as the BBC and the Welsh Assembly Government, to get targeted cuttings from the media each morning sent by e-mail.

The system combines the services of the Newspaper Licensing Authority as well as a local hand cutting service to provide a wealth of content that clients can browse, or search for using a dynamic search system.

This system has been tailored to suit Strata Matrix's workflow, increasing their productivity and improving their reach with the new e-clips integration. A powerful desktop client was written to draw together the distributed cuttings and attach the required metadata which leaves plenty of room for expansion in the future.

After only 3 weeks of being operational, the tool has come to function as the backbone to Strata Matrix's press cuttings system, containing over 3,000 articles, with a further 400-450 being added every week.