Weather app sucks. How about Accuweather's free download?

[Nick_Djinn]

The default weather app sucks. It says forcast but there is no forcast. Its just the current temperature....could be useful if you were underground, but it lacks the functionality of a true forcast. I can look outside to see if its raining. I can figure out if its hot or cold. I want to know if its going to be raining later when i go out, or have that in front of me for when I make plans.


Accuweather.com has an awesome weather browser that tells you the high and low and current and 3 to 5 days in advance in detail. Its the best weather app for linux I have seen in the form of a simple widget.


How about making that the default instead of the unknown upgrade?

[Aging Technogeek]

If you click on the weather icon, you get a window that includes full current conditions information, a seven day forecast, and. if you select it in preferences, a radar map.

[Nick_Djinn]

Are you talking about the applet called "Weather Report" that you can add just by right clicking on the mouse on the top panel? Why isnt it doing that for me?

I want to believe you, but it doesnt seem to be working for me.

[Aging Technogeek]

Isn't that what you were talking about? Or did you mean the temp. add on to the time and date. I agree that the temp add on is just about useless so I never use it.

The Weather Report applet needs to be configured when it's added. Just right click and make your choices.

[Nick_Djinn]

This one is separate from the time and date, but its the only one that is on the list of ones you can add when you right click on the panel. I have put all my information in but I still only get the current temperature, and not even for my own city but the closest big one. I am not sure how I could possibly be doing anything wrong because there isnt that many options. I typed in all the info that I see that I am able to.

Is there a different weather app that you have to add from the software manager or synaptic? I am talking about the widget that claims it provides forcasts.



The accuweather one works great though. It looks good too.


I think that accuweather has a better weather app that works for everyone with less effort.....What might be a step up though is to replace the calendar with a full feature planner that imports the weather information from accuweather....so you can see what the weather is like when you are making plans.

Also, I dont know if this would be a security threat for some people, but remote syncing with your planner on your other devices, including other platforms like my old HTC mogul would be nice....maybe submit info to a remote account rather than by accessing your computer directly.

[markcynt]

I still only get the current temperature, and not even for my own city but the closest big one.

After seeing this thread I tried the weather widget and had the same results, although I never planned to keep it anyway.

There's a decent desktop weather widget in Screenlets.

[Nick_Djinn]

I still only get the current temperature, and not even for my own city but the closest big one.

After seeing this thread I tried the weather widget and had the same results, although I never planned to keep it anyway.

There's a decent desktop weather widget in Screenlets.

There are some awesome alternatives out there. Still, out of the box is better than having to go search for it. If it came preconfigured with accuweawther or with that one you are talking about that may be open source that would be a small step up and really easy to do. A bigger step up if someone is feeling ambitious is to have a planner that imports the 5 day weather forecast and shows it next to the days in your planner, along with 'tasks' and a to do list...They have this for smartphones. A program that could be installed for free as a widget or as a smartphone app and that would let you sync them together would be cool.

[Biker]

If the devs listened to every single request to remove this, and add that, they'd never get any development work done.

Nothing prevents users from removing a program that doesn't work for them and installing their own preferred version.

[markcynt]

Still, out of the box is better than having to go search for it. If it came preconfigured with accuweawther or with that one you are talking about that may be open source that would be a small step up and really easy to do.

Go ahead and do it.

[Nick_Djinn]

Go ahead and do it.

I might.....If it happens it might be next year. I am not a developer yet or even a power user.

[Nick_Djinn]

If the devs listened to every single request to remove this, and add that, they'd never get any development work done.

In this instance the difference in quality is night and day. Its not a debatable difference in quality like Pidgen vs Empathy. One sucks and doesnt seem to do what it is supposed to do for most users and the other is awesome and beautiful and has already been created for us. The devs at Ubuntu do most of the developing though Mint does some excellent original innovation as well. From what I can tell, there are a lot more tweaks in mint than anything else.

Also, Mint seems to specialize in little tweaks that improve performance out of the box. This would be one of them and I cant imagine it taking more than a 10 minutes to implement....but I could be way off.

Nothing prevents users from removing a program that doesn't work for them and installing their own preferred version.

Debatable. One barrier stopping people from downloading a superior applet is being unaware of a better one. it might not be high a new users priority list to sit and look for better replacements to their applets one by one, but its just one of those little things that makes the desktop look more beautiful right out of the box with graphic depictions of the weather and a 5 day graphical forcast in a small semi-transparent box in the top right.

Sometimes at it takes are little things put together well to make a product that has potential absolutely awesome.


Maybe if I have some skills next year I will donate my time to help out. Maybe I could spend a week or so and find the best applets around and compile them as an alternative list and hope they get adopted as the default if people prefer them.

[FedoraRefugee]

If the devs listened to every single request to remove this, and add that, they'd never get any development work done.

In this instance the difference in quality is night and day. Its not a debatable difference in quality like Pidgen vs Empathy. One sucks and doesnt seem to do what it is supposed to do for most users and the other is awesome and beautiful and has already been created for us. The devs at Ubuntu do most of the developing though Mint does some excellent original innovation as well. From what I can tell, there are a lot more tweaks in mint than anything else.

Also, Mint seems to specialize in little tweaks that improve performance out of the box. This would be one of them and I cant imagine it taking more than a 10 minutes to implement....but I could be way off.

Nothing prevents users from removing a program that doesn't work for them and installing their own preferred version.

Debatable. One barrier stopping people from downloading a superior applet is being unaware of a better one. it might not be high a new users priority list to sit and look for better replacements to their applets one by one, but its just one of those little things that makes the desktop look more beautiful right out of the box with graphic depictions of the weather and a 5 day graphical forcast in a small semi-transparent box in the top right.

Sometimes at it takes are little things put together well to make a product that has potential absolutely awesome.


Maybe if I have some skills next year I will donate my time to help out. Maybe I could spend a week or so and find the best applets around and compile them as an alternative list and hope they get adopted as the default if people prefer them.

At least you have the right attitude here. Are you using KDE by chance? My Gnome weather applet shows a forecast and weather map. I am quite happy with it. These are the DE widgets or applets, they have nothing to do with Ubuntu. Go to the Gnome or KDE websites.

[MALsPa]

I don't like to bother with those desktop weather apps anymore. I prefer to use Forecastfox in Firefox. Also, I'm trying out the 1-ClickWeather for Chrome extension in Google Chrome -- seems pretty good so far. I've also tried out Accuweather Forecast and Forecastfox Weather in Chrome. Just seems more sensible to me to have the weather in the browser instead of on the desktop.

[FedoraRefugee]

Yeah, any more the web browser IS my desktop.

[Aging Technogeek]

Personally, I'm a weather junkie. I have the panel weather applet, a weather applet on my Docky dock, a weather applet on my AWN dock, aniweather on Swiftfox, Accuweather bookmarked, and a weather applet on my iGoogle home page.

Every morning I check them all and form a consensus forecast for the day. It is generally more accurate than any single source.

[Biker]

One sucks and doesnt seem to do what it is supposed to do for most users and the other is awesome and beautiful and has already been created for us.

That's YOUR opinion, though. You have a habit of assuming your opinion applies to everyone. While you may not like an included application, others my think it useful and DO like it.

Debatable. One barrier stopping people from downloading a superior applet is being unaware of a better one. it might not be high a new users priority list to sit and look for better replacements to their applets one by one, but its just one of those little things that makes the desktop look more beautiful right out of the box with graphic depictions of the weather and a 5 day graphical forcast in a small semi-transparent box in the top right.

Sometimes at it takes are little things put together well to make a product that has potential absolutely awesome.

Again, your idea of awesome, and another person's idea of awesome may be two different things. To me, a distro MUST have Open Office. Others don't agree with that philosophy. No big thing, if a distro doesn't include it by default, I look for one that does. Some people could care less about "pretty". They want functional. Pretty just clutters up the screen and puts more of a strain on limited graphics resources.

Maybe if I have some skills next year I will donate my time to help out. Maybe I could spend a week or so and find the best applets around and compile them as an alternative list and hope they get adopted as the default if people prefer them.

Knock yourself out. However, always remember that just because you think something is awesome, others may hate the idea.

[MALsPa]

Personally, I'm a weather junkie. I have the panel weather applet, a weather applet on my Docky dock, a weather applet on my AWN dock, aniweather on Swiftfox, Accuweather bookmarked, and a weather applet on my iGoogle home page.

Every morning I check them all and form a consensus forecast for the day. It is generally more accurate than any single source.

LOL! I thought I was a weather junkie, but you've got me beat!

[Biker]

Phooey. All I need is my weather rock. Tells me exactly what I need to know.

[MALsPa]

your idea of awesome, and another person's idea of awesome may be two different things

Yeah, sorry, Nick, I'm another one who doesn't like the big, graphical weather displays on the desktop.

[Aging Technogeek]

In spite of my last post, I have to agree with biker and MalsPa. None of the weather apps I use are desktop resident. I think most users will feel the same - give me a weather applet that stays unobtrusive until I want to see it, then it should show me what I want. The default panel applet does that for me.

If you are having a problem getting it to do that for you, why not request assistance in solving that problem instead of condemning the applet and suggesting it be replaced.

And, by the way, the Accuweather desktop widget also requires you to install Adobe Air which has been known to be a problem to install on some systems, especially 64 bit.