jonpurkis:

...A cooking app for example, hint hint...

Thanks for the compliments.

As far as the cooking app goes, it's actually something I thought about however I decided I'd probably be the only one who'd use it...

Interesting to see that others would be interested. I'll let you know if I ever pursue it.

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ryan.tollefson:

Just installed the 64-bit version - it looks fantastic!

Yeah, well, that's a minor miracle. I don't have access to a 64-bit installation so it was pure guess work. And thanks for your appreciation!

ryan.tollefson:

If I add a location by zip code, I'd like a way to be able to hide the zip code...

Heh, I didn't even think about that - I knew in the back of my mind that you could search by zip code, however being an Aussie that option isn't available so I never did it. I'll add some code to trim the zip code in the next release. I'm probably not going to add the edit name feature at this stage, though, sorry. Maybe if it becomes an issue for more people I'll revisit it.

ryan.tollefson:

...bring up more details about the selected day...

Yes, unfortunately, it is beyond the scope of what I want to do at this stage. Maybe after I get a few more apps out the door I'll revisit it.

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jcuesico:

Does it work in 16x9 (widescreen layout)...

Well, it looks fine. It doesn't actually use all the additional screen space though - there's nothing really for it to show. It just centers the pages you see in the screen shots.

jcuesico:

Does it preload the weather information...

No, it doesn't. It fetches it on start-up and then at the weather.com approved intervals (or what used to be the approved intervals (see below)). In my experience (and with a pretty lame internet connection across the Pacific in Australia, it's incredibly rare to see the N/A images it displays before the fetch is complete.

jcuesico:

It shows that you get the information from weather.com...

Oh dear. I'll need to investigate that. I didn't receive anything from them, so (perhaps naively) assumed they'd be the same as when I signed up for the API in 2005.

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MCExtended:

Yes, unfortunately, it is beyond the scope of what I want to do at this stage. Maybe after I get a few more apps out the door I'll revisit it.

Works very well.  I'm actually using it in conjunction with Vista Extended Forecast.  They kind of compliment each other nicely. 

Would it be possible to be able to edit the label of the location?

For instance, we go camping at Pohick Bay, Va.

I have to enter Lorton, Va to get the right location.  Which is fine, but a way to go back and make the label Pohick Bay, Va.

Or, say Orlando, Va, but label it as Disney World?

Just figured I'd ask.

Great work!

notyouraccount:

...and the transparent overlay is awesome!...

Thanks for the compliments. I wasn't convinced that the overlay was such a great idea once I'd actually implemented it, so I'm glad to know it's appreciated.

notyouraccount:

If your taking requests, the only one I would think would be great is a button to link to a weather map (either static or animated) for each location. Like a "page 2" of information, only viewed when desired.

While I'd very much like to do that, I don't know of any free providers for the images. Unless weather.com have broadened their terms of service (see above) I can't use their maps. While I could try and aggregate all the maps from the various Bureaus of Meteorology, I don't think I can really justify the time it would take.

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midosm.com:

UPDATE: Sorted.  Didn't see if under sports!

In Australia, we don't get the sports option, so I didn't know it would appear there. The category it installs to under 'more programs' is 'news + sports', so I thought that was kind of appropriate. If the category on the start menu is just titled 'Sports' then it's probably a bit inappropriate.

Can someone PM me a screenshot of it showing under the sports menu please? Would like to work out whether I should remove it from that category.

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nurseryboy:

Kittyburgers:

...Adding them on my actual computer seemed to work, then when I used my extender, the added cities weren't listed...

...but when I select one of the cities for which to view the weather, it shows the weather for London...

Yeah, there's a bit of an issue there. I'm currently saving the location list for each user, and an extender is considered (for whatever reason) a different user. However I'm modifying the start menu for all users, which means the start menu changes do appear.

The work-around until I release a patch is to set the location list on the extender to match that of the main computer, and then things should be fine (or at least I think that should do it).

PS. My XBOX 360 is dead at the moment, so validating any extender-specific fixes is going to be a bit challenging at the moment, sorry.

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notyouraccount:

dannybuoy:

...cannot get it to show up in the start menu either...

...Are you sure you're not seeing it in the Program Library?...

Yeah, this is a bit annoying. You need to choose the 'Show on Start Menu' options from within the program before it will appear. But in order to choose the 'Show on Start Menu' option you need to be able to find the program in the first place...

The approved practice is that you don't install to the start menu by default, and so I follow that. The problem is that where you are recommended to install to ('more programs') is a bit tricky to find for users.

For the next release I'll create a custom UI for the installer which allows you to set it up at install time - I should have done it in the first place (I suspected it'd be an issue), however I really wanted to get something out there to get some feedback and an idea of what sort of bugs there'd be.

And thanks, notyouraccount, for helping people out before I got a chance to reply. I appreciate it.

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This is the weather app that I have been looking for.  Something simple with a great interface.  Thank you very much.

One thing I noticed when using it on the extender.  When I hit the back button I'm brought to a blank blue screen and I have to hit it again to get back to the start menu, not a huge deal but it's just something that might set my wife into a frantic panic :)

MCExtended:

Yeah, there's a bit of an issue there. I'm currently saving the location list for each user, and an extender is considered (for whatever reason) a different user. However I'm modifying the start menu for all users, which means the start menu changes do appear.

The work-around until I release a patch is to set the location list on the extender to match that of the main computer, and then things should be fine (or at least I think that should do it).

PS. My XBOX 360 is dead at the moment, so validating any extender-specific fixes is going to be a bit challenging at the moment, sorry.

No problem. I tried it myself and it worked perfectly (setting up the locations on the extender to match the main PC). Thank you!

captain_caveman2k:

...It seems to run well - however I did notice a second or two lag when returning from Heatwave back to Media Center's Start Menu..

paulaeccleston:

...one thing ive noticed is that the app takes too long to exit, seems to take aroun 8 - 10 secs before it exits back to the main menu in vmc...

Yeah, this too is annoying. Sometimes the close application message seems to beat the history back message in the Media Center API, and that means that you're stuck looking at the closed app container until the cleanup period expires. I'm pretty sure I can find some dodgy hack to overcome this for the next release.

captain_caveman2k:

...Is there a way to remove it from the Sports menu?...

I'll include some additonal setup options in the next version. Never having seen how sports appeared on the start menu I just assumed it'd be entitled the same way as the category under 'more programs' (i.e. 'news + sports'), so it seemed appropriate to install it there.

captain_caveman2k:

...we tend now to use Celsius for temporature but MPH for speed...

Yeah, sure, no worries - didn't think of you guys in that regard. I'll try and sort something out for the next release.

captain_caveman2k:

...I remember the original Heatwave ... especially the onscreen keyboard ...

Glad you like it, and it's nice to know the original version is remembered (even if it was killed off pretty quickly). It's good to know the keyboard is getting used - I tend to just use T9, so only really included it for limited-remote extender users.

There's actually a couple of shortcuts for the keyboard too:

• Play: Brings up the keyboard when on a text field without having to navigate to the button. Also chooses the OK button when the keyboard is displayed
• Stop: Chooses the Cancel button when the keyboard is displayed
• Channel +/-: Rotates through uppercase/lowercase/symbols

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MCExtended:

ryan.tollefson:

If I add a location by zip code, I'd like a way to be able to hide the zip code...

Heh, I didn't even think about that - I knew in the back of my mind that you could search by zip code, however being an Aussie that option isn't available so I never did it. I'll add some code to trim the zip code in the next release. I'm probably not going to add the edit name feature at this stage, though, sorry. Maybe if it becomes an issue for more people I'll revisit it.

Just trimming the zip code out would be great.

MCExtended:

ryan.tollefson:

...bring up more details about the selected day...

Yes, unfortunately, it is beyond the scope of what I want to do at this stage. Maybe after I get a few more apps out the door I'll revisit it.

No problem - still a great app.

Also, I know I would be interested in a nicely done cooking app.

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Just my $0.02.

It works great.  I even tried it on my DMA-2100 extender with a small glitch.  I had to save the settings after each time I added a new location.

I really like the transparent view when a video or Live TV is playing.  It is hard to get the color and opacity optimal I'd imagine given the varing colors and brightness a video might be displaying.  For the most part, I could make out the Weather text.

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VMC: Intel D865PERL, 2.8 Ghz HT, 2 GB, 80 GB, 200 GB, 500 GB, Hauppage 150 MCE, HDHR, GForce 6200, Yamaha HTR-5730

Extenders: Xbox 360 Wired - Sony KDF-42WE655 HDTV; DMA-2100 Wired - Sony KDL-46W3000

James, this is FANTASTIC -- thanks for bringing this back to life [ and building it on the public platform :-) ]. Love it, love it, love it...!

The transitions on the settings page are very nice as are the movements between the locations. It fits well within the Media Center family but has some great unique touches which in many ways are better.

Are the graphics representing the conditions provided by Weather.com or did you create them? Wouldn't it be nice if we animated those!?!?! If I recall correctly the terms of usage from weather.com were such you can't use alternative. If you can and you'd like to have some help there please let me know.

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Charlie Owen
Program Manager
Microsoft Corporation
http://blog.retrosight.com

Oh, also willing to provide some assistance on the app shutdown stuff and such. Might be best to have that conversation over on the Sandbox over via email if you feel more comfortable.

Man, I'm so thrilled to see this come out...!

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Charlie Owen
Program Manager
Microsoft Corporation
http://blog.retrosight.com