Background and Format
The virtual tour was set up in 2001 by two undergraduates, Chris Rycroft and Jon Pritchard. They received help and advice from Robert Whittaker and Iain Murray, together with the Dean of Pembroke, Mr. Brian Watchorn. The tour has remained a student-run site, and is currently maintained by Robert Whittaker. The development history page shows how the tour has evolved over the years, while the future plans page gives details of expected improvements coming soon. Current usage statistics are available from the web stats page.
The virtual tour comprises about eighty locations, each with a photograph and an accompanying description. Links are provided to allow users to move from one location to another as they would in real life. In addition the locations are grouped into ten geographical 'areas' (usually a college court). Each area has it's own page complete with a clickable map showing the locations which can be viewed. These area pages can be accessed from the main map page, or via the navigation bar at the bottom of the location pages. Finally, there is an index and chronology of notable buildings and features within the college, to enable users to quickly find a page they're looking for.
Compatibility and Accessibility
The pages in the tour are of a simple design, which comply with web standards and should work satisfactorily in any browser. To maintain a clean and consistent look, only a limited number of fonts and principal colours are used. The light and dark blues reflect the colours of the college scarf. All the pages within the tour should conform to the XHTML 1.0 and CSS2 specifications, so best results will be obtained with a standards-compliant browser, such as Firefox, Safari, or Opera.
Steps have been made towards full compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, in line with the University of Cambridge Web Accessibility Policy. It is believed that all priority 1 and 2 checkpoints have now been met throughout the site (level AA conformance). In addition, most of the pages meet most of the priority 3 checkpoints. Access key shortcuts have been used throughout the site. The keys are:
- I
- Jump to the index of key locations
- M
- Jump to the college map
- U
- Go up a level in the directory hierarchy
Photographs and Copyright
The photos with filenames of the form P61*.jpg were
taken on an Olympus C2020-Z digital camera at 1600x1200 pixels. They
are copyright Chris Rycroft, and the original shots are available on
request.
The pictures with filenames of the form DSC*.jpg were
taken on Sony DSC-P1 digital camera at 1600x1200 pixels. They are
copyright Robert Whittaker, and again the originals are available on
request.
All the images may be freely copied for personal use. However,
permission should be sought before using them in any form of
publication, including display on the web. For non-commercial use,
permission will normally be given without charge, provided the source
is acknowledged.
Feedback
Constructive comments are always welcome. If you notice any mistakes, or have an idea for how the tour could be improved, please don't hesitate to get in touch. The future plans page contains details of changes that are already in the pipeline, together with more information about providing feedback. Comments and suggestions can be emailed to Robert Whittaker: robert.whittaker@(nospam)pem.cam.ac.uk.