WXforum.net
Weather Related Organizations => WeatherUnderground => Topic started by: ALITTLEweird1 on April 15, 2014, 10:25:48 PM
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I for one don't like THW. And now since our data is being sent to Intellicast from WU without permission, I've stopped my feed to WU. What do you all think about this?
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Rapid fire with WU is to valuable IMO. When I had ftp issues for 16 hours and all my scripts were down Rapid Fire continued so visitors could still see live weather. Plus WU has stored my data for 12 years and I really have no issue if they share my weather data.
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I see it from a business point of view. WU and Intellicast merged and there was/is nothing that anyone can do about it. So WU had our feeds and now WU and Intellicast have it and that's great in my opinion. The more companies that have it the better for me anyways since it is more ways for the public to view my data and I'm all for that. Permission was not granted and I understand that. So whats the issue with these companies if your helping the public and not paying a dime for it? :-) My vote is for I don't care who gets my data since it's helping people.
PS- My data being sent to WU and Intellicast is with a Gigabit Internet connection using Cat 6 cables. \:D/
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In the fine print of the agreement where you register your station, there's probably some language about how it can be used, shared, etc.
I'm not as upset about intellicast as I am about them screwing up the viewability of my weather history page. I started griping about that when they went away from classic.underground.com.
I'm going to think this over. I like using the WU weather sticker on my website. it saves me from doing a lot of programming I don't know how to do.
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Greg what do you mean viewability of weather history page? I thought it was better. One thing I discovered is now all data can be easily downloaded into an text file, converted to .CSV file for excel and use excel formulas for averaging data and other cool functions.
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Greg what do you mean viewability of weather history page? I thought it was better. One thing I discovered is now all data can be easily downloaded into an text file, converted to .CSV file for excel and use excel formulas for averaging data and other cool functions.
I like being able to go to that page and see what the high for the day was or the low for the day or whatever. The links at the top list all the options (instead of the graphic-intensive pulldown menus for the same links), etc.
Compare the two attachments.
On the Classic, there's a table with all the data, the webcam pic and the current info. Links at the top for what else I might want to see. All in one place, easy to find, and easy to use.
The new is too graphic-intensive. I think they're going for the moths (people that like bells and whistles more than substance).
YMMV
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I have stopped my feed to WU and have had my station permanently removed from their system. Reasons are as follows:
1. I have not liked TWC since Comcast acquired it, got rid of most the folks that made it what it was, and transformed it into another reality TV channel. I haven't watched in 10 years, nor have I missed it.
2. I am moving to a new house in about a month or so and would have had to get a new I.D. with them anyway.
The only feeds I now have running are to CWOP and PWS Weather.
John
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Just a thought:
Currently,
The Weather Channel, weather.com, Weather Underground, Intellicast.com are parts of The Weather Company, owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.
And yet, many of us who swear we won't do things like 'Facebook' gladly offer our hard work and innovation freely to this bunch.
Mike
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Facebook is just not style. Is rather shave my head with a cheese grader than sign up for a account on Facebook. :lol:
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Just a thought:
Currently,
The Weather Channel, weather.com, Weather Underground, Intellicast.com are parts of The Weather Company, owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.
And yet, many of us who swear we won't do things like 'Facebook' gladly offer our hard work and innovation freely to this bunch.
Mike
It's amazing how so many people can get sucked into the hype without knowing what the black side is.
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I don't have anything against TWC. Just because they show movies? That hasn't affected me by any means so to answer your question Weatherhost I'm not sucked into anything. It's by choice!
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The weather belongs to everybody and everybody is effected by it. Even though I provide the current weather information from my equipment, I feel that everyone is entitled to have access to it. I would still have the equipment even if I was the only one looking at it. When I was a child, my parents taught me to share. As long as it doesn't cost me anything more, I don't care who uses it. Somehow or another Comcast uses my webcam for the local weather for Cave City. Unless it is in the fine print when I signed up to upload the webcam to WU, I never gave Comcast permission to use it.
While TWC programming has gone down hill enough that it was a deciding factor in me cancelling Dish, I can't say that I "hate" them or anything. Previously WU had a policy that if you supplied PWS data, you could link and use their info on your website. I don't know if that has changed with the new owners or not, but I thought that was a great deal. I haven't used Intellicast in years, but I always liked their radars.
If I stopped using services of companies that didn't necessarily align their values and visions of how civilization should be with my values and visions, I would be quite rich as I don't think I would be spending money with most businesses.
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I see it from a business point of view. WU and Intellicast merged and there was/is nothing that anyone can do about it. So WU had our feeds and now WU and Intellicast have it and that's great in my opinion. The more companies that have it the better for me anyways since it is more ways for the public to view my data and I'm all for that. Permission was not granted and I understand that. So whats the issue with these companies if your helping the public and not paying a dime for it? :-) My vote is for I don't care who gets my data since it's helping people.
PS- My data being sent to WU and Intellicast is with a Gigabit Internet connection using Cat 6 cables. \:D/
It's good you feel this way, but I for one work for no one, period. If they wanted me to supply information to their sites for the public to see, then a friendly note saying" Do you mind if we..." would have been nice. After all, who paid for your weather station, and that spiffy Gigabit Internet to feed the data to THEM, which in the end they make money from? As soon as I get signed up with someone else I'm dropping them.
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@blizzardof78. I work for no one either but your helping the public as well. If you feel this way why do you have a website that the public can look at it for free? So what if a company displays your data. You should be proud that your supplying the data for your area. Why keep it all to yourself? To each their own. :-)
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@blizzardof78. I work for no one either but your helping the public as well. If you feel this way why do you have a website that the public can look at it for free? So what if a company displays your data. You should be proud that your supplying the data for your area. Why keep it all to yourself? To each their own. :-)
We could go back and forth on that one until the cows come home. Long story short... they are Million $$$ companies, I'm not. And as you said "to each his own".
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Just a thought:
Currently,
The Weather Channel, weather.com, Weather Underground, Intellicast.com are parts of The Weather Company, owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.
And yet, many of us who swear we won't do things like 'Facebook' gladly offer our hard work and innovation freely to this bunch.
Mike
Well I did sell my stock in Blackstone. :)
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I'm not crazy about the ownership behind WU either. Even the name Weather Underground originated from the radical group of the 70's. I still stand behind the service they provide me, I just don't support the agenda of radical climate change being pushed. Can I have it both ways? I say yes, because I can send data that I feel is accurate and in a small way have my say.
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Honestly it doesnt really bother me. TWC uses my cams, I use the WU API, my weather data is up there for whomever
would like to enjoy it. and if they do, great, because it sure beats the heck out of hourly updates from our local airport.
I've been sending them my data since 2005 and will continue to.
Flame Away :grin:
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I see TWC an unethical. I don't patronize such companies.
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Greg what do you mean viewability of weather history page? I thought it was better. One thing I discovered is now all data can be easily downloaded into an text file, converted to .CSV file for excel and use excel formulas for averaging data and other cool functions.
I like being able to go to that page and see what the high for the day was or the low for the day or whatever. The links at the top list all the options (instead of the graphic-intensive pulldown menus for the same links), etc.
Compare the two attachments.
On the Classic, there's a table with all the data, the webcam pic and the current info. Links at the top for what else I might want to see. All in one place, easy to find, and easy to use.
The new is too graphic-intensive. I think they're going for the moths (people that like bells and whistles more than substance).
YMMV
I see what you mean. Not having a summary section is needed.
What I do like is the new graphics. Also saving and transporting data is easy to do, just go to table select custom and time period, use the download icon on right side so all data turns into text file. Just copy and paste into notepad++. From there text file can be transported into excel usable extension by changing . txt file into .csv file. I've transported all my data into excel for calculating averages and editing my cumulus dayfile prior to using cumulus in 2010.
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I sent my data to WU for about 6 months last year then I stopped. I didn't want my data being associated with the garbage reported from other stations in my area. People were constantly getting in contact with me and asking how the temperature difference can be 10 degrees in the same area? How can there be a 50% humidity difference? Which station is right? blah blah! I see they finally took the barometric pressure readings off the station list. I used to see anything from 28.8 inches up to 31.2 inches every single day. With that I should be seeing their winds being reported as 654 mph gusting to 722 mph. :lol: I don't know with the merger if these issues will be addressed but I doubt it.
I think some people put these stations up and then after the coolness factor wears off they don't pay attention to them anymore. They do require regular maintenance.
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I'm with you on the garbage factor. I had a few in my area that were so poorly sited, they shouldn't have been reporting and not from a lack of good siting spots on their property. Some people just look at it like it's a toy and WU is a fun thing to do - no standards - and when their data is fully wonked, it's an "Oh well!" situation.
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I'm with you on the garbage factor. I had a few in my area that were so poorly sited, they shouldn't have been reporting and not from a lack of good siting spots on their property. Some people just look at it like it's a toy and WU is a fun thing to do - no standards - and when their data is fully wonked, it's an "Oh well!" situation.
I agree. I've seen some of the worst siting in my own neighborhood and fortunately none of them report to WU. Personally I wouldn't care if a station down the block reports bad data because of poor equipment and poor siting. I hope the public is smart enough to know good from bad data. Other than that I don't worry about it.
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I tried to help the public out by changing the name of my station to "Only Accurate Station" but that just pissed a bunch of the other guys off. :lol: Which was my point, to get them to fix their garbage data. We used to sit around the weather office at the airport and joke about how the bank thermometers were more accurate than some of the PWS sites. I see this morning the dew point temperatures range from 3°F to 45°F. Gotta love it. =D>
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ROFL! That's a great one!
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I tried to help the public out by changing the name of my station to "Only Accurate Station" but that just pissed a bunch of the other guys off. :lol: Which was my point, to get them to fix their garbage data. We used to sit around the weather office at the airport and joke about how the bank thermometers were more accurate than some of the PWS sites. I see this morning the dew point temperatures range from 3°F to 45°F. Gotta love it. =D>
Some people just don't like advice or helpful criticism. My view is if they like reporting bad data that's there problem. I my self am OCD when it comes to accuracy. I do thank God that I have a tolerate HOA. So in the defense of less than ideal stations that they are sited in stricter communities.