Author Topic: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS  (Read 10127 times)

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Offline WonderWX

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https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Weather-Underground-PWS/dp/B07234WJ9B/

I'm currently conducting a beta test of my new Amazon Alexa skill "Personal Weather - Weather Underground PWS".



You can now find my Weather Underground skill in the Alexa marketplace. Just search for either "PWS" or "Weather Underground".

If you wish to be part of the beta test, please send me a private message with the email address associated with your Alexa device.

Finally, an Alexa skill that pulls the data from your personal weather station via Weather Underground.

Reports current conditions including temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, pressure, rain in the past hour, rain in the past day, and much more. You can ask for all conditions or just a specific condition.

http://kevin-key.blogspot.ca/2017/05/amazon-alexa-skill-beta-test-connect.html
« Last Edit: May 21, 2017, 02:41:43 PM by WonderWX »

Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2017, 06:43:31 PM »
Seriously, people need to pull away from WU entirely.


Offline Cutty Sark Sailor

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2017, 07:21:01 PM »
Seriously, people need to pull away from WU entirely.


+1
 


Offline kevink619

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2017, 03:54:56 AM »
Thanks.

I'm currently conducting a beta test of my new Amazon Alexa skill "Personal Weather - Weather Underground PWS".



If you wish to be part of the beta test, please send me a private message with the email address associated with your Alexa device.

Finally, an Alexa skill that pulls the data from your personal weather station via Weather Underground.

Reports current conditions including temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, pressure, rain in the past hour, rain in the past day, and much more. You can ask for all conditions or just a specific condition.

http://kevin-key.blogspot.ca/2017/05/amazon-alexa-skill-beta-test-connect.html

Offline kevink619

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2017, 03:55:37 AM »
What's wrong with Weather Underground?

Seriously, people need to pull away from WU entirely.

Offline WonderWX

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2017, 09:55:37 AM »
More constructive comments could have been to suggest a "better" weather reporting service that a skill could be made for.
We appreciate your work Kevin. Thank you.

Offline kevink619

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2017, 01:24:01 PM »
Thanks WonderWX.

More constructive comments could have been to suggest a "better" weather reporting service that a skill could be made for.
We appreciate your work Kevin. Thank you.

Offline Jáchym

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2017, 01:39:04 PM »
Sadly I have to agree with the comments regarding WU. If you want to see why it is one of the worst services/support I have seen, just go through the posts/threads on this forum, problems basically on a daily basis, appaling support (if you actually can call it "support" at all) and as a developer I hate it even more. They are now gradually discontinuing most of their products so the question is how long that page will exist as such.

Offline kevink619

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2017, 01:50:30 PM »
Weather Underground's support may not be all that great, but I still find it to be among the best service of its class out there.

First, they don't charge us PWS users a single penny for their service.

They have the most comprehensive data out there and still don't charge for the use of their API (under the developer plan).

Yeah, I've noticed some bugs in their API that come and go - like some of the numbers not matching what's on the web page for one's PWS, etc.

Their forecasts are quite accurate - much more so that any other weather networks that I know of. Yeah, forecasts are sometimes wrong, but I still find them to be much more accurate than the local news and most other weather networks.

So I browsed some of the other threads regarding Weather Underground last night... Maybe I was tired and my comprehension wasn't 100%, but it seems some people are very upset about getting a "Welcome to the Weather Channel" spam/email? Like I said, what am I missing here? If I get spam, I just delete it. Unlike snail mail junk, I don't even have to get up and walk it to the trash can.

Anyways, Weather Underground isn't perfect, but it's still one of the better services out there. And again, we're not paying for it. It's free.

Kevin

Sadly I have to agree with the comments regarding WU. If you want to see why it is one of the worst services/support I have seen, just go through the posts/threads on this forum, problems basically on a daily basis, appaling support (if you actually can call it "support" at all) and as a developer I hate it even more. They are now gradually discontinuing most of their products so the question is how long that page will exist as such.

Offline PaulMy

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2017, 01:56:36 PM »

Sorry to butt in to this thread, but this is about some positive work being done.  Going negativity about WU is not helpful here and there are more appropriate places where that can be done.  WU is what it is, maybe not what it was in past years and maybe not what it will be in the future.  If we can use WU for things we use that is great, if not then we not use it.  I use it successfully for a few things and that makes it worth my while to upload to them.  Great to see people willing to share their work and skills with others...


Enjoy,
Paul




Offline dupreezd

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #10 on: May 21, 2017, 02:09:03 PM »
I have to agree with Kevin and PaulMy. Weather Underground is a great entry level for beginner weather enthusiasts to get their feet wet. This might be even be the way most of the people here started.
If the newbie want to get into it deeper, they join this forum and see what else is out there and go from there if they wish. Not everyone want a fancy banner or host their own website.
I can do it, having the knowledge and skill set being in IT almost my whole life, but choose not too. I post to CWOP and get most of the info I need from there. Working with that kind of stuff all day, right now is not high on my priority. I'll rather go into my man cave, a wood shop in my garage, and make some wood dust.
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Offline kevink619

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #11 on: May 21, 2017, 02:14:23 PM »
Exactly.

I started out with posting to Weather Underground (and still do so).

Later, I began posting to CWOP, PWS Weather, etcc.

I have to agree with Kevin and PaulMy. Weather Underground is a great entry level for beginner weather enthusiasts to get their feet wet. This might be even be the way most of the people here started.
If the newbie want to get into it deeper, they join this forum and see what else is out there and go from there if they wish. Not everyone want a fancy banner or host their own website.
I can do it, having the knowledge and skill set being in IT almost my whole life, but choose not too. I post to CWOP and get most of the info I need from there. Working with that kind of stuff all day, right now is not high on my priority. I'll rather go into my man cave, a wood shop in my garage, and make some wood dust.

Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #12 on: May 21, 2017, 02:46:00 PM »
Weather Underground's support may not be all that great, but I still find it to be among the best service of its class out there.



So I browsed some of the other threads regarding Weather Underground last night... Maybe I was tired and my comprehension wasn't 100%, but it seems some people are very upset about getting a "Welcome to the Weather Channel" spam/email? Like I said, what am I missing here? If I get spam, I just delete it. Unlike snail mail junk, I don't even have to get up and walk it to the trash can.

As long as you keep- drinking the Koolaide, that's all you'll see.  The problems with WU go back many many years and are much deeper that you seem to realize.  Send your stuff elsewhere, but avoid WU like the plague it is.  Many of us sat back and waited to see if the acquisition by IBM would help.  It may have made things worse.  There are indications that WU may be going away entirely or will be morphed into another site.

They 'gave' you access 'free' because they were profiting from your data.  They got far more out of it than you did.


Offline buckizard

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #13 on: May 26, 2017, 02:16:10 AM »
I don't care where she gets it from, if Alexa can read my weather, all the better!
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Offline marfanuk

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #14 on: November 01, 2017, 10:01:55 AM »
WonderWX, great idea but its not available to the UK.  Can You change this?

Offline WonderWX

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #15 on: November 01, 2017, 12:25:16 PM »
Hi marfanuk,  Kevin Key is the author of the skill, I simply reposted it from another thread for better visibility.

Send a message to kevinkey@gmail.com with the email address associated with your Alexa to request an invitation for  UK version.

Offline marfanuk

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Re: Amazon Alexa skill: Connect your Alexa/Echo to your WU PWS
« Reply #16 on: November 01, 2017, 12:50:26 PM »
WonderWX, thanks for the info.