TWC Today > Contributions
'WeatherScan' like app now in beta preview
ivuWeather:
Thanks for the kind words, everyone! I really appreciate you taking the time to check it out. Here are my thoughts on a couple of things mentioned:
* We do use NWS data. Fortunately, we have been able to build out the servers to ingest and store it so we are not very reliant on the NWS servers themselves which tend to have capacity issues during severe weather.
* The location choosing has been something we've gone back and forth on. The reason it offers that second selection with all those locations is that in some areas of the country the zip code encompasses a *huge* area. We're hoping to be more specific than that. We want it to be local to you - whether you live in a tiny town or a big city.
* For those of you looking for Smooth Jazz - Once the app is up and running press the left arrow key on your keyboard or Fire TV remote. It will open a menu. You'll see an option there to change the music to smooth jazz.
* That ticker at the bottom has almost been the death of me. We're using a video game engine to get the graphics to the point they are. Getting that crawler running smoothly has caused us to evaluate half a dozen different engines. You wouldn't think so but it turns out a smooth crawling ticker is incredibly difficult. The one we have isn't perfect, but it's as close as we've been able to get.
I'll be sure to keep this group updated as we make changes and might even run a couple of polls asking for what we should be adding next.
Thanks again everyone for the kind words. If you think of things we should add please don't hesitate to let me know.
Take care!
Scott
Everblack:
--- Quote from: ivuWeather on January 07, 2020, 02:20:35 PM ---Thanks for the kind words, everyone! I really appreciate you taking the time to check it out. Here are my thoughts on a couple of things mentioned:
* We do use NWS data. Fortunately, we have been able to build out the servers to ingest and store it so we are not very reliant on the NWS servers themselves which tend to have capacity issues during severe weather.
* The location choosing has been something we've gone back and forth on. The reason it offers that second selection with all those locations is that in some areas of the country the zip code encompasses a *huge* area. We're hoping to be more specific than that. We want it to be local to you - whether you live in a tiny town or a big city.
* For those of you looking for Smooth Jazz - Once the app is up and running press the left arrow key on your keyboard or Fire TV remote. It will open a menu. You'll see an option there to change the music to smooth jazz.
* That ticker at the bottom has almost been the death of me. We're using a video game engine to get the graphics to the point they are. Getting that crawler running smoothly has caused us to evaluate half a dozen different engines. You wouldn't think so but it turns out a smooth crawling ticker is incredibly difficult. The one we have isn't perfect, but it's as close as we've been able to get.
I'll be sure to keep this group updated as we make changes and might even run a couple of polls asking for what we should be adding next.
Thanks again everyone for the kind words. If you think of things we should add please don't hesitate to let me know.
Take care!
Scott
--- End quote ---
Thanks for the update, Scott. Just wanted to address a couple of things from my previous post that seem unclear.
- As indicated in my edit, crawl runs smoothly on mobile now. For those of you experiencing the same issue, Low Power Mode was on in iOS. Turn that off, things should be gravy. At least it's fine on my end, that should be of some comfort to you.
- I'm well aware of the smooth jazz (which is a great addition!) That remark was really targeted toward TWC as they opt for production music, and while it's good, it can get repetitive.
Looking forward to more updates.
luesjo12:
As Everblack said, thank you for the update! I just wanted to just add that the reason I brought up the location picker is that entering my local ZIP code (78501) does not bring up the city it is for, which is McAllen, TX. I have to pick locations that are about 10 or 15 miles away from me, instead of just selecting the city which that ZIP code belongs to. I hate to nitpick, but just wanted to share my observation. Thank you again for your contribution and for your help!
ivuWeather:
Everblack and luesjo12 - I sure hope neither of you felt I was bothered by your feedback. Just the opposite - I'm very happy to have it. There have only been a few people who have seen the project so far and I'm anxious for additional opinions and suggestions.
luesjo12 - I'm concerned about what you mentioned with your zip code. To be honest that sounds like a bug and I want to get it addressed. I'll take a look and see what I can figure out. McAllen certainly should be in there as a city. I appreciate you letting me know.
Thanks again, guys! I really do appreciate any feedback. Even negative feedback is OK. We really are committed to doing whatever we can to make this little app of ours as useful as possible. In order to do that we need other opinions besides our own. After staring at it for hundreds of hours over the course of a year you develop a type of tunnel vision that sometimes makes things hard to notice.
Scott
ivuWeather:
luesjo12 - Thanks again for the report on your zip code and the missing city. It helped me discover an inconsistency in the data for places and correct it. You should see McAllen now. It's also correcting / adding almost 600 other places.
I appreciate the heads up!
Take care!
Scott
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