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Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

blog.darksky.net

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Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#91

Post by wombat-man »

londons_explore wrote: post #77

DarkSky has a very nice UI... but the actual weather data and predictions seem lackluster at best. If they were confident in their predictions, they'd compare against competitors - for example, "If you use our 3-hour weather prediction to decide the best time to go for a 20 minute jog each day, you'll stay dry 16% more of the time than using NOAA weather predictions".

It's usually worked for me but sometimes it's wrong. Is there a better option you know about?? I love the concept of seeing if I have time to walk somewhere before it rains.

Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#92

Post by _carbyau_ »

raybb wrote: post #16

What weather app are people using on Android? I'm currently using Geometric Weather + MyRadar: https://f-droid.org/packages/wangdaye.com.geometricweather/ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.acmeaom.an...

As an Aussie, I use the BoM app. Has everything I need and being government supported is not driven by "for profit" motives.

Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#93

Post by nytesky »

Shank wrote: post #27
quickthrowman wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It definitely does not have the same functionality, you can only see the current temp/precip prob %/humidity/dewpoint/wind speed/etc, you can’t see the forecasted stats I listed in the iOS weather app, you can only get hour by hour temperature. I’m very disappointed that Dark Sky is going away. If Apple added in the ability to see forecasted hour by hour wind speed/humidity/dew point/etc, it’d be a decent replacement…

> I’m very disappointed that Dark Sky is going away. If Apple added in the ability to see forecasted hour by hour wind speed/humidity/dew point/etc, it’d be a decent replacement. In iOS 16 (and in macOS Ventura, which adds the Weather app), you can view hourly temperature, UV index, wind speed, precipitation, feels like, humidity, visibility, and pressure, on a graph. You can also tap and hold to view individual hour…

That is great, because hourly dew point is so important to knowing how comfortable it will be.

Now we just need a lightening tracker in iOS weather…

Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#94

Post by freetime2 »

atchoo wrote: post #86
freetime2 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, since there are presumably more Apple Weather users than Dark Sky users, by moving the functionality of Dark Sky into the Apple Weather app, more people will benefit from the features than when Dark Sky was independent.

It was available on IOS. Why would non-users on IOS be an argument for the power of capital to diminish other platforms?

Because even though it might dimish the experience for a relatively small number of Dark Sky users on other platforms, the move can still be a net gain for consumers as a whole due to the large number of iOS users who can now benefit from improvements to the default weather app.

Dark Sky wasn't even available to purchase in my country previously. But now, thanks to this investment by Apple, I get access to a bunch of great new features in the Weather app via a free software update. Calling this "anti-consumer" and declaring that it should be illegal is, in my opinion, an over simplification.

Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#96

Post by londons_explore »

wombat-man wrote: post #91
londons_explore wrote: post #77

DarkSky has a very nice UI... but the actual weather data and predictions seem lackluster at best. If they were confident in their predictions, they'd compare against competitors - for example, "If you use our 3-hour weather prediction to decide the best time to go for a 20 minute jog each day, you'll stay dry 16% more of the time than using NOAA weather predictions".

It's usually worked for me but sometimes it's wrong. Is there a better option you know about?? I love the concept of seeing if I have time to walk somewhere before it rains.

In the UK, I use netweather which has an atrocious UI, but displays the raw radar data on a 180 meter grid. Using that and a regular untrained eyeball just looking at how the rain is forming seems to make far better predictions.

Whereas darksky seems to use a 1km+ grid and very crude predictions like 'the rain will move in the same direction as the wind'.

Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#97

Post by wpietri »

TillE wrote: post #83
wpietri wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny, you just explained how easy it was. But now it's so hard that Apple engineers can't just rebuild the parts they need? I think the simpler explanation is one you'll find in many comments here: Dark Sky was unusually good, and Apple bought it to get all that goodness to themselves.

This is just asking why acquisitions happen. There are plenty of reasons, and they typically don't demonstrate monopolistic behavior, certainly not in any legal sense.

Except for the sense where it's an anti-consumer concentration of market power. Something Apple is fond of. [1] Is this particular action currently illegal? Probably not, because in the US we're in an era of extreme friendliness toward companies from anti-trust regulators. But that doesn't mean no reasonable market regulator would ever frown on acquisitions like this.

[1] E.g.: https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/8/23343336/apple-tim-cook-im...

Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#98

Post by bqmjjx0kac »

wombat-man wrote: post #91
londons_explore wrote: post #77

DarkSky has a very nice UI... but the actual weather data and predictions seem lackluster at best. If they were confident in their predictions, they'd compare against competitors - for example, "If you use our 3-hour weather prediction to decide the best time to go for a 20 minute jog each day, you'll stay dry 16% more of the time than using NOAA weather predictions".

It's usually worked for me but sometimes it's wrong. Is there a better option you know about?? I love the concept of seeing if I have time to walk somewhere before it rains.

It's significantly less user-friendly, but there's always https://www.weather.gov/ (if you live in the US).

Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#99

Post by thejosh »

_carbyau_ wrote: post #92
raybb wrote: post #16

What weather app are people using on Android? I'm currently using Geometric Weather + MyRadar: https://f-droid.org/packages/wangdaye.com.geometricweather/ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.acmeaom.an...

As an Aussie, I use the BoM app. Has everything I need and being government supported is not driven by "for profit" motives.

Yeah the BOM website has also been the same design for so long and is great.

Example forecast: http://www.bom.gov.au/wa/forecasts/perth.shtml Observations: http://www.bom.gov.au/wa/observations/perth.shtml

Re: Dark Sky iOS app will no longer work from Dec 31

#100

Post by hahajk »

GeekyBear wrote: post #70
Drybones wrote: post #5

Upsetting about the app, but the new iOS weather app has the functionality essentially. The real gut wrencher is the darksky website going down. It’s how I check weather most of the time a no other browser weather site comes close to it in simplicity and features.

The iOS weather app has the functionality, without selling your location data to data brokers, as has normally been the case with third party weather apps. >Weather apps are secretly selling your location data to the highest bidder https://thenextweb.com/news/weather-apps-are-secretly-sellin...

This looks like Dark Sky's response to that article.

https://mobile.twitter.com/darkskyapp/status/108135144619558...

So, not the case with Dark Sky.

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