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 6)

Jafo

on Jul 10, 2009

I feel sorry for stardock and wincustomize because of all the pressure they are getting. This is not their problem to deal with because it is weather.com who is telling everyone to change things. The creators of the widgets need to simply follow the rules so weather.com will be happy. We should still be thanking them for letting us use their feeds.Everyone needs to calm down and learn to live with what life gives you.

G3mpi3 ....you got it in one....

bilbo1930

on Jul 11, 2009

We are in the process of producing a replacement gadget.
That widget was provided as a sample of what could be done. It is not "part" of DesktopX functionality but we understand people like it. The new version will use the SD accuweather feed (and have the requiered logo and links). It will not be editable by the user.

what a big help for us!

ZubaZ

on Jul 11, 2009

what a big help for us!

Wait. You are not owed a weather widget with code. We gave it out so that coders could learn. Now we can't. It's not a choice.

I really appreciate the understanding.

bilbo1930

on Jul 11, 2009

I really appreciate the understanding.

yeah i see.. thanks

bilbo1930

on Jul 11, 2009

July 8, 2009 17:38:42 from Zubaz

Lastly, we will be updating that sample object soon to work with our (licensed) accuweather feed. Or, baring that, removing it as a sample object.

adni18

on Jul 11, 2009

Wait. You are not owed a weather widget with code. We gave it out so that coders could learn. Now we can't. It's not a choice.

Hey Zu,

We are not coders, we are skinners, we don't know how MS Windows work, but we can do a GUI.

WinCustomize is a skinning community!

The 99% of WC authors are skinners not coders! We expect some help on this problem, don't you think?

bilbo1930

on Jul 11, 2009

I'm removed all my dx widgets and themes from my wc gallery.

...this was my hobby, really enjoyed to made..

For my friends and downloaders: Thanks your alltime support, and kind of worlds!

so.... Im don't want to say Goodbye, but Thanks for the fish!

RedneckDude

on Jul 11, 2009

The 99% of WC authors are skinners not coders! We expect some help on this problem, don't you think?

And we are getting it. Several coders are working on it. I can't believe all this over weather. As Jafo said, there was a day when a person wanted to know the weather, so they go open a webpage and check it. DX is not weather. DX does so much more than weather, we will all be fine if we just wait.

Hell, why don't all the naysayers here just email/petition weather.com and tell them how they owe us a weather feed and how they are neglecting us by leaving us high and dry with no forewarning.

Guys, I hate redoing all my work as bad as the rest of you, maybe even more, since I just did that a few months ago. I have to do it again, I don't like it, I have better things to do with my time, but I have to, that is just the way it is, so I will.

Please don't turn your backs on skinning or DesktopX over this. Stardock already pays little attention to DX, if we let this get out of hand, they may just scrap it and be done. That would certainly make me very sad.

Kendawg78

on Jul 11, 2009

Unfortunately Redneck,weather was in all the widgets I loved that matched themes I love. I use rainlendar so I could give a hoot about clocks and calendars. (Rainlendar even has a MSN weather addon. Not nearly as cool as desktopX.) Take weather out of the widgets and I don't have a lot of use for them. Same for gadgets and themes. Weather is big for people putting stuff on their desktops. Weather is the top download for Yahoo widgets as well.

RedneckDude

on Jul 11, 2009

Weather is big for people putting stuff on their desktops.

I understand what you are saying, but what I make is not for putting on your desktop. It is for REPLACING your desktop.

I use rainlendar so I could give a hoot about clocks and calendars.

A lot of people use DX Themes for more than weather. A DX theme that I make is a full fledged application launcher that does everything with style. With it, the user don't need a start menu, don't need Object Dock, rainlender, windows media player, or sysmetrix. My DX themes do all that those can do.Weather can be added easily enough, just as soon as they get it fixed, and they will.

My statement here is that DesktopX is about a lot more than weather. Everyone is acting as though the world is coming to an end because we don't have a weather widget. How did we get by without them before Stardock cme along? Or before the PC came along? Weather isn't everything and it's definitely not worth all this fuss.

Fairyy~

on Jul 11, 2009

Wait. You are not owed a weather widget with code. We gave it out so that coders could learn. Now we can't. It's not a choice.

Why doesnt this surprize me ? I'm sure you all knew about this and decided to do nothing. Now you can sell more matching Themes etc . None of us are needed here anymore so I'll just delete my Widgets myself. I have been here for years and you can say this is not a Stardock problem and that might be so but as a so called ' Community ' your making it quite clear that you don't give a rats ass about helping any of us....its just a figure it out yourself and you have 1 week to do so. No biggy. I'm sure the skinning world won't miss a few weather widgets. I was willing to fix each one of mine but all my weather widgets were packed as a widget pack so even to delete the weather requires rezipping the other widgets and making new previews. I have little enough time these days to worry about this when Stardock could care less.

We are not coders, we are skinners, we don't know how MS Windows work, but we can do a GUI.

WinCustomize is a skinning community!

The 99% of WC authors are skinners not coders! We expect some help on this problem, don't you think?

You would think they would at least fake that they were going to help....but they don't need any of us now...its just a business. Ta Ta

neophil78

on Jul 11, 2009

Let's think about this.

For now it seems weather.com have recently changed their conditions of use. Why wanting to delete widgets / themes which have been done BEFORE these new rules ? new rules are not retroactive aren't they ?

Though Stardock have not to delete anything done in past. They have just to leave them alone. Though members can continue to download them. OK they won't work in the forms they are, but it will be the problem of each downloader to do what's necessary to make them work using fixes which have been purposed (or fixes which will be)

Is this not enough simple as this ?

Chasbo

on Jul 11, 2009

I have been here for years and you can say this is not a Stardock problem and that might be so but as a so called ' Community ' your making it quite clear that you don't give a rats ass about helping any of us

Amen Amen Amen. Show them the money!

You would think they would at least fake that they were going to help....but they don't need any of us now...its just a business.

That being said I can understand the biz aspect to a point and that means they need take care of their customers and the skinners or else like Night Train said they are nothing more than the Walmart of skinning.

The skinner is using the WC "storefont" to sell those skins. If you bought a TV at Walmart you wouldn't go to Walmart to get it fixed. You would go to the manufacturer, right?

You even mention Walmart which I guess is what Stardock aspires to be. That's fine it's your biz, Walmart makes a lot of money selling cheap, toxic crap from China but this ain't a TV and I didn't think you'd rip me off by not backing up what you sold me. It's software. You are responsible for what you sell in my view. You should back it up. I bought a lot of DX Themes from you guys. As far as I'm concerned the weather widget is a big part of what I wanted with those themes. There's nothing we can do about it except not buy anymore software from you. That's a choice each person has to make. Back up your customers and get those DX Themes that were sold fixed. It's the right thing to do and will show that you really care about your customers/community. Yeah you can get away with not fixing the themes but that just shows what you guys really have become: Skinning Walmart. It is quite evident to me that when you people of WC speak of "community" anymore it is this: COMMUNITY=$$$$$.

Vad_M

on Jul 11, 2009

We are in the process of producing a replacement gadget.

That widget was provided as a sample of what could be done. It is not "part" of DesktopX functionality but we understand people like it. The new version will use the SD accuweather feed (and have the requiered logo and links). It will not be editable by the user.

May be it would be a good help for skinners. But not for coders. I'm not a skinner. I'm a coder first of all. So I don't need any additions which I can't edit or modify. Sorry but I will never use this in my projects...

Vad_M

on Jul 11, 2009

Thanks for the fish!

Dear bilbo1930 and Fairyy~,

I have no words to illustrate my bad feelings and how I understand you! Seems after a few days like this I will be ready to do the same...

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