Tropic Designs Software » Blog http://www.tropicdesigns.net Innovative Internet Software Solutions Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:48:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Weather.com suddenly cancels their free XML data feed for weather software developers http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/weather-com-suddenly-cancels-their-free-xml-data-feed-for-developers/ http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/weather-com-suddenly-cancels-their-free-xml-data-feed-for-developers/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:22:03 +0000 Brad http://www.tropicdesigns.net/?p=643 Weather.com suddenly cancels their free XML data feed for weather software developers is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

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Thousands of websites, mobile apps, scripts and Windows software programs developed with the free Weather.com XML feed will stop working at midnight eastern time on Oct. 31st, 2011.

Today came the Weather.com announcement that their free weather XML feeds will no longer be provided.  If developers want to continue receiving weather data from Weather.com they must subscribe to the new Weather Channel® API, but for a price.

How much does it cost?

  • Plan 1: Web only, Monthly Subscription Fee: $62.98 (USD) plus tax, if applicable.
  • Plan 2: Web only, Monthly Subscription Fee: $185.98 (USD) plus tax, if applicable
  • Plan 3: Mobile only, Monthly Subscription Fee: $185.98 (USD) plus tax, if applicable

So I don't know if you call it another case of corporate greed or another sign of the bad economic times the world is in but this announcement comes at a bad time for many.

The best I can tell, Weather.com gets their large scale data for FREE from the NOAA and then uses that data and possibly other data from other sources to create their services.

So what does this mean for popular weather software programs like WeatherPulse™ and their thousands of followers?  The immediate future for most will not include supporting the Weather.com site or business model.  To stay a free service they will have to reach out to other sources to provide the weather data for their projects and followers. 

Weatherbug has already approached the WeatherPulse™ team and will provide the Weatherbug data for free, this has been a few years back, so this might possibly be the future of Weatherpulse. 

One large advantage to using the NOAA data is they give it away for free with no restrictions to it's use or how it's presented. This could mean a mobile app could be developed for WeatherPulse™ at a low cost and still provide a free Windows program.  Developers that wish to continue providing free weather software may need to use the NOAA data too.  Unfortunately many non USA fans will find their weather data is not available from the NOAA data source.


 

Weather Software

Weather.com suddenly cancels their free XML data feed for weather software developers is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

]]> http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/weather-com-suddenly-cancels-their-free-xml-data-feed-for-developers/feed/ 67 Mini 5 Day Weather http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/mini-5-day-weather/ http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/mini-5-day-weather/#comments Sun, 12 Sep 2010 03:57:36 +0000 Brad http://www.tropicdesigns.net/?p=287 Mini 5 Day Weather is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

]]> New Mini 5 Day Weather v2.00 release.  Mini 5 Day is a fast, compact 5 day weather display for your Windows desktop.  Highly configurable options and flashy effects will make this the most talked about feature of your desktop.  The Mini 5 Day Weather software shows your city current conditions and five day outlook while blending in to any desktop colors or background.

Mini 5 Day Home Page

Mini 5 Day Weather is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

]]> http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/mini-5-day-weather/feed/ 11 What is My IP Alert v1.30 http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/what-is-my-ip-alert-v1-30/ http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/what-is-my-ip-alert-v1-30/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:18:42 +0000 Brad http://www.tropicdesigns.net/?p=219 What is My IP Alert v1.30 is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

]]> What is my IP Main Screen I've updated the MyIPAlert software today to v1.30.  If your currently running the previous version, you can use the automated upgrade from the software and your version will be updated automatically. Everyone else can visit the My IP page to find the latest full package release.

The Alert email functions have been completely re-written, they now support Google Gmail, to all of you that requested this, here ya go! The Alert email now supports CC and BCC recipients too.

The software now sports a simple new look, and there are other miscellaneous changes. If you wonder what is my IP address, just highlight the tray icon to see your current IP address hint and it will be displayed. There is also a new quick tray menu option to copy your IP address to the Windows clipboard for quick use.

As usual, MyIPAlert is Freeware and will stay that way.

http://www.tropicdesigns.net/software/my-ip-alert/

What is My IP Alert v1.30 is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

]]> http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/what-is-my-ip-alert-v1-30/feed/ 11 Wipe out Weather Pulse! http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/wipe-out-weather-pulse/ http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/wipe-out-weather-pulse/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:22:51 +0000 Brad http://www.tropicdesigns.net/?p=208 Wipe out Weather Pulse! is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

]]> I created a utility today to Wipe out all Weather Pulse™ directories, files, registry entries, etc. The reason is that many of you have been using Weather Pulse™ since the very first release or for many years, months, etc. without upgrading and have lately had some problems with left over directories and files.

The utility should only be used after you have run the Weather Pulse™ built in uninstaller and/or the Windows uninstaller. You don't want to run this without first using the uninstaller or you could create orphan entries in your Windows uninstall window. This includes using any plug-in uninstallers too, if you have installed a Weather Pulse™ plug-in, there is always a uninstaller created in the Windows uninstall window and you should do that first.

To use the utility, simply download the file from the link below, unzip and run the file.

With that said, here is a link to the Wipe out Weather Pulse™ program:
Download Wipe Out Weather Pulse™

Wipe out Weather Pulse™! is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

]]> http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/wipe-out-weather-pulse/feed/ 2 New site design http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/new-site-design/ http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/new-site-design/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:57:53 +0000 Brad http://www.tropicdesigns.net/?p=141 New site design is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

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OK, the new site is ready for traffic. I'm not completely finished but everything is here. You should be able to download software, get help and make new purchases. Access to the new Member area is available from the top-right of the web page, see the golden key. The member area is only available to you if you have purchased in the last week or so. I will be converting old accounts to the new member area as needed.

If you have any problems with the site, you can contact me from the Help menu selection. However, I'm still working on the web site design and some things may break from time to time as I update.

New site design is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

]]> http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/new-site-design/feed/ 1 Welcome to Tropic Designs http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/welcome-to-tropic-designs/ http://www.tropicdesigns.net/blog/welcome-to-tropic-designs/#comments Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:37:21 +0000 Brad http://www.tropicdesigns.net/?p=1 Welcome to Tropic Designs is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

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Tropic Designs is under constructionWelcome to Tropic Designs.

As you can see, we're currently redesigning our web site.

If you would like to access our previous site,  you can still do that while we are working on this one.

Here is the link: Tropic Designs

Thanks for your patience and understanding ..

Brad William
Tropic Designs

Welcome to Tropic Designs is a post from: Tropic Designs Software

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