[IPT] IPT v2.0 is ready

[Oliver Meyn (GBIF)]

Dear IPT users,

The GBIF Secretariat are pleased to announce that following three rounds of formal testing, a stable release of the Integrated Publishing Toolkit Version 2.0 (IPT v2.0) is now available for download from http://code.google.com/p/gbif-providertoolkit/.

The IPT v2.0 enables simple biodiversity data publishing to the internet according to global standards. We would like to encourage early adopters to install/upgrade this latest release, particularly if you have an existing IPT installation.

Updated information about this version of the IPT and instructions on how to join the IPT mailing lists is available on the GBIF Website: http://www.gbif.org/informatics/infrastructure/publishing/.  In addition:

	- The live user manual can be found online [http://code.google.com/p/gbif-providertoolkit/wiki/IPT2ManualNotes?tm=6]. All users are invited to contribute and update this manual. We will soon start a process to ensure that versions are available in some of the major languages. 

	- We kindly ask those of you that will install and use this new version to report any issues on the project site [http://code.google.com/p/gbif-providertoolkit/issues/list] and address questions to the IPT-users mailing list [http://lists.gbif.org/mailman/listinfo/ipt].   

	- The project roadmap outlining the technical developments of the software [http://code.google.com/p/gbif-providertoolkit/wiki/Roadmap] will provide a schedule of any minor version releases planned for the future.

This new version of the IPT will be officially launched in October 2011 at the 18th GBIF Governing Board Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The GBIF Secretariat will work closely with the Nodes Strategy Group and key IPT users to ensure that a comprehensive uptake plan is ready for the IPT v2.0 launch.  This plan will include a technology transition guide, a training programme, final user manuals and technical documentation, an expert network and a distributed helpdesk.

Thank you once again for all your help in testing and contributing to the IPT!

With best regards,
Oliver, on behalf of the IPT development team and the GBIF Secretariat

--
Oliver Meyn
Software Developer
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
+45 35 32 15 12
http://www.gbif.org