Apple acquires Dark Sky

Post by rrix2 » Tue, Mar 31, 2020, 7:25 PM UTC

cryptoz wrote: post #151

thatcat wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC they built the models with user data, but stopped collecting from phones because so many different sensors are used for rH and temp in phones plus being in pockets, battery temp, etc meant the data had too much variance. Even though I hate that they did this bc it's my favourite weather app, it actually would make sense to just use iphones if they were going to start collecting that data again since all the hard…

The barometer data that comes from phones (both Android and iOS) is extremely resilient and there is a lot of value to be derived from it. Ongoing research by Cliff Mass and team (at UW) shows that machine learning can help bias-correct and error-correct barometric pressure data on the fly with very good results. That data can also be assimilated into WRF to make forecasts with higher accuracy. I work on a related ap…

Post by rrix2 » Tue, Mar 31, 2020, 7:26 PM UTC

nxc18 wrote: post #145

Aneurysm9_ wrote: post #24

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That thoroughly misses the point. They could do both. There is zero reason to shrink the addressable market other than Apple not wanting to play with others.

Its very hard to maintain an Android app to the same quality that people expect from Apple. I can see why they'd want to shrink that headcount or redirect to a more productive endeavor. As a bonus, Apple devices get a better weather app than the competition. The API part doesn't make as much sense, since they could make a pretty penny reselling that data without as much support burden.

Post by dstaley » Tue, Mar 31, 2020, 7:27 PM UTC

abrowne wrote: post #152

dstaley wrote: post #78

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My primary use of the Dark Sky API is for minute-by-minute forecasts. I've yet to find another API that can answer the question "Do I have enough time to walk my dog before it starts raining?"

Same here, for the website. I actually find their forecasts beyond a few hours pretty bad¹, so I use weather.gov, but I haven't found anything as good at telling me whether it will rain in the next 20 minutes. 1: Both seemly wrong more often and more importantly unclear whether they mean a greater or lesser chance or amount of rain or snow, which makes a big difference when you are, say, biking to work.

Post by rrix2 » Tue, Mar 31, 2020, 7:28 PM UTC

jaywalk wrote: post #131

dmos62 wrote: post #16

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It's important to acknowledge that there is a benefit: Apple products' value increases in relation to other platforms' when they introduce more exclusive offerings. The right to do this without repercussions is hurting IT. Big IT business is rife with anti-competitive crap that noone should put up with.

You really think Apple (or anyone else) should be forced to support software on a competing platform? That's absurd. It's a crappy decision on their part, no doubt. But saying it should be illegal is way out of line.

Post by bromuro » Tue, Mar 31, 2020, 7:30 PM UTC