9032 One little feature I really loved about Netscape Navigator 9 was the WeatherBug weather monitor readout on the lower right of the browser window that gave you a constantly-updated snapshot of temperature and weather conditions at the configured geographical location.

Unhappily, WeatherBug has been removed from the final, forever, finito, that's-all-folks version 9.0.0.6 of Navigator, support of which has been discontinued by corporate parent AOL.

More happily, there are alternatives for WeatherBug addicts. You can add WeatherBug support to the Firefox Browser (version 2) via a free plug-in, to your iPod touch or iPhone with the WeatherBug Web Application, or to your OS X Dashboard in a free widget. For more on those options, read on.

WeatherBug, a provider of weather information services, manages and operates a proprietary network of over 8,000 WeatherBug Tracking Stations and more than 1,000 cameras strategically placed at schools, public safety facilities and television stations throughout the U.S. and Canada. These professional-grade weather stations generate live neighborhood level reports every second (unlike other weather providers; their data is up to an hour or more old).

WeatherBug was developed with the purpose of delivering live local weather conditions, forecasts and life saving severe weather alerts from its exclusive network of WeatherBug Tracking Stations. Today, the mission remains the same. WeatherBug data is used by…

* Consumers: 19 million unique at-home and at-work visitors.
* Government: accessible to Homeland Security personnel for plume modeling in the event of a biological or chemical attack and by over 100 government agencies at the state and local level.
* Schools and School Districts: used in over 8,000 schools across the U.S. for teaching math, science and geography with real life data.
* Broadcasters: used by meteorologists at over 100 television broadcast stations like ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW and Univision, to bring “neighborhood” weather forecasts and conditions to communities every day.

Since its release nearly five years ago, WeatherBug is one of the top 10 Internet properties in daily reach, with millions looking to their WeatherBug desktop application for live local weather conditions, forecasts and severe weather alerts. The WeatherBug service is available at WeatherBug.com as well as via partners - NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW and Univision television stations, Netscape, Logitech, HP/Compaq, and America Online - to name a few.

In 2000, the WeatherBug desktop application was launched to consumer and business users with the purpose of delivering live local weather conditions, forecasts and life saving, severe weather alerts; all leveraging the existing WeatherBug Tracking Station network. Within eight months of the initial launch, 1.5 million users had downloaded WeatherBug to their computers. In addition, since 2002, WeatherBug's application has come pre-installed on HP and Compaq computers, and Logitech peripherals. In 2004 WeatherBug and AOL brought millions of people the “Instant Message that could save their life,” through the AIM co-branded WeatherBug partnership. To date, WeatherBug has registered over 78 million users for the free product.

WeatherBug Plug-in For Firefox

A WeatherBug plug-in for the Firefox Web browser lets you get live, local weather conditions in yous browser window, featuring detailed forecasts, radar, news and severe weather alerts from WeatherBug's proprietary network.

Installation Instructions

* Download the latest Firefox browser (version 2 final - the Firefox 3 betas are not yet supported)
* Launch the Firefox browser and go to the WeatherBug Firefox Add-ons page.
* Click the “Install now” button on the WeatherBug Firefox Add-ons page
* Follow the installer's prompts and instructions.

For more information, visit:
http://weather.weatherbug.com/labs/firefox-weather-extension.html

WeatherBug Web Application For iPhone and iPod touch

Includes Live Streaming Weather Information and Videos, Neighborhood-Level Weather Information and Severe Alerts

WeatherBug also ofers a unique web app optimized so iPhone and iPod touch users can access streaming neighborhood-level weather conditions and view video weathercasts which are updated daily. Listed as a staff pick on the Apple iPhone Web Apps Directory ( http://www.apple.com/webapps/ ), the WeatherBug Web application is also available at:
http://weather.weatherbug.com/labs/iphone.html

"The launch of our Web app means we have given iPhone and iPod touch users a great new way to access WeatherBug information while on the go," commented Chris Brozenick, vice president of WeatherBug mobile. "With the ability to access live, local streaming weather and videos the WeatherBug Web app is a first-of-its-kind and a breakthrough service for consumer and professional users."

The WeatherBug Web app provides international weather information, detailed views of the 7 day forecast, radar, and camera images from WeatherBug's proprietary network of tracking stations. Additionally, the WeatherBug Web app allows users to set a variety of locations for multiple cities and scroll through current conditions, forecasts, radar and live camera images for each one. No matter where someone is in the world, they can access WeatherBug's unique live local weather content and check on live conditions in multiple locations.

A WeatherBug Dashboard Widget is also available for Mac OS X "Tiger" and was a runner-up in the Apple Design Awards 2006 for the Best Mac OS X Dashboard Widget.

WeatherBug Mac Widget for Mac OS X DashBoard

The WeatherBug Widget for Macintosh lets you receive all the benefits of live weather streamed to your Dashboard, plus extra features. The WeatherBug Macintosh Widget is free.

Features
Macintosh Weather Widgets

* Live, local weather conditions and forecasts
* Severe weather alerts
* NEW Live weather cameras
* NEW International weather data
* NEW Web search function

Installation Instructions

* Download the file from Apple's Dashboard Web site: WeatherBug Widget for OS X Dashboard.
* The widget icon should show up on your desktop. Double-click the icon to start.
* Click “Install” to place the widget into the Dashboard environment.
* Click “Keep” to give the widget permission to run.
* Note - You can also download the widget directly from WeatherBug servers: WeatherBug Widget for OS X Dashboard .

System Requirements

* Mac OS X 10.4 or newer
* Internet connection

To download, visit:
http://weather.weatherbug.com/desktop-weather/macintosh-weather-widgets.html

http://www.weatherbug.com
and
http://www.weatherbugprofessional.com

Charles W. Moore

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