[real-eyes] Re: Review, Greg Epley's Weather Gale
- From: "Denny Huff" <lists@xxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:54:22 -0500
Reggie,
I have been using this program for over a year now and I totally agree, it
is the best weather program I have found.
It is totally accessible with Jaws or Windoweyes and has all of the features
you would want in a weather program.
I used to use Weather Aloud, but switched to this because of the weather
alerts which Weather Aloud didn't have.
I would even recommend this weather program to my sighted friends.
The suggestions you make are good ones. Hopefully Greg will consider them.
Thanks!
Denny Huff
-----Original Message-----
From: real-eyes-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:real-eyes-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Reginald George
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 12:19 PM
To: real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [real-eyes] Review, Greg Epley's Weather Gale
This is a really fun program for unobtrusively receiving basic weather
alerts and advisory information or just keeping track of your forcast and
current conditions in multiple locations at the same time. Don't know why I
didn't try it sooner. The user interface is uncluttered and eligant. The
main window contains ten controls one can tab through including a button for
the locations manager, the list of the locations you are monitoring, an
update button, an options button, the help button, a program information
button, an disable/enable button, an exit button, and a box to read the
current conditions, forecast, or the current advisories.
The contents of this box is controled by a set of radio buttons. The sounds
on start up and updates are pleasant and totally customizeable. The
interface is completely accessible by tabbing to the different buttons.
When you close the main window with alt f4 the program minimizes to the
system tray. The weather updates can be enabled or disabled on the fly with
a customizeable hot key to save band width. The four options available on
right click or context key include show main window, disable, exit, and
help. Under the options button in the main window there is a simple drop
down combo box with six pages of choices. These are general, startup,
sounds, updating, accessibility, and debug/log. You can then tab through
the options associated with that page. The help documentation is fantastic.
There are many features that are unique to this program. See below. Greg
is a blind programmer who monitors this list. A lot of attention has been
given to intuitively prompti ng the user during set up and first run to
select the correct options.
Features I would like to see in future versions include prompting the user
to press space to select multiple locations when you enter the location
manager, the ability to select by county at least in the US and Canada, and
customizeable alerts through an alerts manager, . This would provide the
ability to customize what alerts are announced or sounded, specific sounds
for different types of alerts, and to set the priority of alert
notifications. Adding this level of complexity to the program might justify
breaking the program into a free basic and paid professional version. These
alerts could cover conditions such as polin count, ozone, high winds,
tornado, flood, thunderstorm, and others so you don't get too many
advisories for the same things. Also a sound and animation letting one know
the alert has expired would be nice. Below is information taken directly
from the Thinkzo Systems web site.
http://www.thinkzo.com/products/WeatherGALE.htm
Thinkzo: WeatherGALE
WeatherGALE, free weather software for your Windows computer!
Key Features
NOTE: Features marked with a * (star) were known to be unique to Weather
Gale during initial development. However, it's always possible a beta tester
violated their non-disclosure agreement with Thinkzo Systems -or- another
developer shared the same insight independently and unknowingly provided a
similar feature.
Easily select up to 30 locations to monitor from a global database.
* Customize the colors and data format for each location.
WeatherGALE's system tray icon will use the colors and data format, Imperial
or Metric, you select for a location to display the current temperature. If
you're monitoring all defined locations, Orlando, Florida could be displayed
in sunny colors, such as orange text on a yellow background in Imperial
format, while Anchorage, Alaska could be displayed in icy colors, such as
blue text on a white background in Metric format.
* Customize various sound events for audible notification of what's going
on.
WeatherGALE offers complete flexibility for customizing various sound events
for audible feedback on startup, shutdown, connection errors, weather
advisory alerts and much more. Default sounds are included, or you can use
any standard Windows wave audio file anywhere on your computer.
* Monitor one or all defined locations.
WeatherGALE allows you to monitor your first defined location, or select a
time interval and watch as WeatherGALE cycles through each defined location
to keep you informed of weather all over the world.
* Customize the audible weather advisory alert notification interval.
WeatherGALE can provide audible weather advisory alert notification only
when a statement has changed or for as long as a statement is posted.
* Define a system wide hotkey that instantly displays the main user
interface for quick and easy management.
You're working on a document. You hear your weather advisory alert sound
play or notice the visual weather advisory alert symbol in your system tray.
A quick press of your chosen hotkeys and the WeatherGALE Main Window
appears, ready to help you quickly get the detailed information you need.
* Define a system wide hotkey to enable and disable connectivity without
having to change startup options or exit the software.
You want to play a game, watch a streaming movie or chat with a friend with
full audio and video - demanding tasks that require the most bandwidth you
can squeeze out of your internet connection. A quick press of your chosen
hotkeys can disable WeatherGALE so it doesn't keep trying to use your
internet connection.
Later, another quick press of the same hotkeys and WeatherGALE immediately
collects the most current data and resumes normal operation - no clumsy
options to change - and WeatherGALE even remembers the current connectivity
state after you exit the software so you don't need to keep changing it on
each startup.
Displays Current Conditions - temperature, humidity, pressure - and many
others for all locations worldwide.
Displays extended textual forecast and textual weather advisories for
locations in the United States.
* Audible and visual weather alert advisory notification.
WeatherGALE provides both audible and visual indicators for weather advisory
alerts, so those with hearing impairments don't miss out on the information
they need.
* Lots of options to help you customize the software to your liking.
Main Window background color, run at Windows startup, full control over Main
Window Action at startup, connect delay at startup, various updating control
options and lots more. The emphasis here is to offer you as much flexibility
over how you want to use the software - not limit you to a select few, or
no, options.
Includes a Mini-QuickStart to show you the basics and a full help guide that
clearly explains all you need to know to use the software.
* One of the most accessible weather softwares ever developed - great for
anyone with most any kind of disabling condition.
WeatherGALE was developed by a blind programmer, so those with some type of
disability or impairment can rest assured their needs were considered,
rather than be ignored by a team of sighted and able programmers who have no
concept of or compassion towards disabled users.
* It's free, no ads, no spyware, no catches, no gotchas.
At Thinkzo Systems, it's felt that something called "free" should be just
that. Other developers say their software is free, then include some hidden
"gotcha"
in order for you to gain the full benefit of the software. Other developers
claim their software doesn't include any spyware or adware when in fact they
do. There are no ads or spyware in WeatherGALE - there are better ways to
obtain information from you other than spying on you to get it or harassing
you with ads. There's also no fee for WeatherGALE - you're under no
obligation to donate unless you personally feel like doing so.
Click here to read Thinkzo Systems idea of what "free" is (and should be)...
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