DesktopX Weather Widget Issues

DesktopX Weather Widget Issues - Read This

Published on July 10, 2009 By Island Dog In OS Customization

As many of you know from reading the forums over the past couple of days, that weather feeds being pulled in from DesktopX created widgets/objects have stopped working. To make a short story even shorter, TWC has shown a requirement put upon all widget creators and users, and anyone else accessing their data to abide by new and quite specific demands/rules. This goes for anyone using the feeds, not just WinCustomize users.

If you want to continue to use TWC weather feeds you will need to abide by their new rules, which includes a requirement to place a logo and links back to them. Several DX coders including sViz and Vad_M have been posting new feeds, and some code fixes to help others fix their weather objects.

An ongoing thread from sViz can be found here:

https://forums.wincustomize.com/358753

Which ever new weather feeds creators decide to use, they need to make sure they also abide by any rules or guideline imposed by the originating feed provider.

Starting Monday, July 20th, we will start removing broken weather widgets from the WinCustomize galleries that have not been updated and/or violate any ToS/ToU in regards to weather feeds. The WC moderators are going to keep a close eye on the DesktopX queues so that updates will be pushed through as soon as possible. When updating a current skin, please be sure to make a note in the description that it has been updated with a new weather feed. If authors are do not have a copy of their widgets and are not able to retrieve them from Wincustomize, they are available by request to an admin.

We understand this has caused quite a stir, but this is nothing that can be easily fixed as it’s an issue that is not in Stardock’s nor WinCustomize’s hands. Please keep an eye on the forums for updates from DX coders who are looking at alternative solutions.

Regards,

Spencer
WC Admin

Comments (Page 5)

ZubaZ

on Jul 10, 2009

What about gadgets since they can't look at script, they wouldn't know where it's coming from..

If you use a feed from weather.com follow the terms of service. Purposfully using code that violates a term of service would be a very bad thing indeed.

Lantec

on Jul 10, 2009

For those who seem to be unable to look for themselves........here's one that works

https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.aspx?skinid=45&libid=77

RedneckDude

on Jul 10, 2009

[quote]For those who seem to be unable to look for themselves........here's one that works

https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.aspx?skinid=45&libid=77[/quote]

Works here, is it legal?

Thanks, Dude!!

RedneckDude

on Jul 10, 2009

Well, it is a gadget, not a widget. I can't see the script.

neophil78

on Jul 10, 2009

Instead of giving to the authors of WinCustomize some help with the weather widgets, you have decided to delete all of them from WC!

Is this a solution? Unbelievable!

Does anybody cares about the thousand users who used to have them in their computer desktop?

It is obvious that WC doesn't care with this solution.

In the other hand, these 10 days period until you start to delete all the weather widgets from WC are not enough during the summertime vacation, most authors are not even aware of the problem.

Please think again, you don't have to delete anything, because if a weather widget doesn't work there is no violation of any ToS/ToU in regards to weather feeds.

Almost all the weather widgets in WC don't work anymore!!!

Everything is told here

ZubaZ

on Jul 10, 2009

Instead of giving to the authors of WinCustomize some help with the weather widgets, you have decided to delete all of them from WC!

Stardock has been looking at options. Just because we don't make them public does not mean nothing is happening.

Does anybody cares about the thousand users who used to have them in their computer desktop?

Yes. Stardock cares and Wincustomize cares. Still, authors need to make the changes to the gadgets.

In the other hand, these 10 days period until you start to delete all the weather widgets from WC are not enough during the summertime vacation, most authors are not even aware of the problem.

Authors will be notified via email what the problem is and a link to the best available fix.

Please think again, you don't have to delete anything, because if a weather widget doesn't work there is no violation of any ToS/ToU in regards to weather feeds.

It's better to have a broken widget online? We think not. It is better that a new user not think that DesktopX is broken because of weather.com's change and widget creator's now broken code? We think not.

Almost all the weather widgets in WC don't work anymore!!!

So authors will be busy for a bit. There is nothing WC can do without opening each widget editing the code to work (the same as the author would have to do anyway).

RedneckDude

on Jul 10, 2009

I have already started updating my themes to have no weather, one is in moderation now. And one working theme is available. I have decided to go this route because we don't know when this problem may arise again, and I don't wish to reupdate all my skins every year...lol. For interested parties, you can read more here: https://forums.wincustomize.com/358932

ZubaZ

on Jul 10, 2009

Addendum: If any artist wants thier broken widgets removed now, please PM me or one of the other mods.

RedneckDude

on Jul 10, 2009

Addendum: If any artist wants thier broken widgets removed now, please PM me or one of the other mods

I wish to ask this, If an artist asks you to remove their themes/widgets and then they reupload, it counts as an update, and has to be moderated? Or as a new upload and starts over on download counts? Just asking.

ZubaZ

on Jul 10, 2009

Good question . . I think ID will have to answer it. PM him

Nimbin

on Jul 10, 2009

while i can see the wisdom with WC's solution to this problem i have decided to just not bother with any DX widgets anymore. Not worth the hassle. From now on i am using yahoo widgets which work perfectly. A big shame because i really liked most of the widgets from here.

RedneckDude

on Jul 10, 2009

Good question . . I think ID will have to answer it. PM him

I have been PMing and emailing I.D. to no avail.

k10w3

on Jul 10, 2009

Nimbin

reply 21

From now on i am using yahoo widgets which work perfectly.

I never noticed those before...thanks for the tip!

Jafo

on Jul 10, 2009

Nimbin....if the Yahoo widgets use the same weather source/feed they will also be broken.

The solution is for ALL entities to adopt a new feed that has no restrictions [yet] or set them up in such a way as they comply with whatever restrictions are imposed by the feed provider.

There IS only one responsibility for Stardock ...to amend or replace the 'example' weather object in Object Desktop to be a working one.

and

There IS only one responsibility for Wincustomize.com and that is to remove any now non-functioning widgets in a timely fashion so as to alleviate third-party complaints.

Do we CARE about the situation? [in Aussie slang] TOO BLOODY RIGHT we care.

It causes us all sorts of grief....removing themes/widgets....notifying people...getting them to fix/resolve them...rechecking [if necessary], responding to all sorts of unreasonable opinions regarding culpability.

This is NOT the first time something skin-related has 'broken'. I remember issues with ICQ, IRC, MSN and Trillian where coding was frequently 'updated' to break another's use of their function....and the skinning methods thus changed as well... but all that was years ago and likely forgotten by some and unknown by most.

Datamining is usually eventually an issue [for someone]. TWC resolved theirs simply. Anyone who was accessing them now needs to go back to the drawing board.

k10w3

on Jul 10, 2009

Jafo

reply 24

Nimbin....if the Yahoo widgets use the same weather source/feed they will also be broken.

Downloaded this about half an hour ago -- works fine. This is the weather widget that Yahoo includes in their main download. Notice the Weather.com bit at the bottom, which, when clicked opens up TWC webpage set for my location, which I am assuming takes care of the TOS for TWC -- no logo, no ads, just their name and a jump link to their page which DOES contain all the ads and logo.

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