Weather ’round the clock with WeatherDock
Posted by JohnnyAppleseed | Under Review, Software Sunday Apr 27, 2008Let’s face it, some people are more interested in the weather than others. There are some people who are content to go look out a window and see whether it’s sunny or raining, and that’s all they need to know about the weather. Then there are the people that faithfully watch the 6 o’clock news just to see the weather report, and then there are those folks who want to know every little detail about the weather.
Unless you are content to be a window-looker (or, on the other extreme, you are the sort that chases tornadoes in a pickup truck), your need to know the current and upcoming weather will probably be met by WeatherDock 2. Now, we must admit that there are several programs and widgets that will show you your local weather on the Mac - there’s certainly no shortage of free weather software - but we like this one for several reasons. First, it’s very flexible in how it displays the weather. We have it set up to display the current conditions in the top menu bar, and then there is a drop-down that shows the forecast for the next several days:
Click on a particular day and a window pops up with even more information (this window can also be accessed from the dock icon if you choose to use that):
The drop-down tray that is shown above is only seen when a particular day is selected, and gives additional information about that day’s forecast.
While we like the menu bar operation, it’s also possible to have a dock icon with badges representing various current conditions. A similar icon with optional badges can be placed on the desktop, if you’d prefer it there.
There are an unbelievable number of preferences that can be set on this program, but we don’t want to leave you with the impression that it’s difficult to set up, because it isn’t. Basically all you really have to do is tell it the locations (yes, you can have more than one) for which you wish to receive weather forecasts, and then tell it how you want the current conditions displayed (menu bar, dock icon, desktop, spoken aloud, etc.). Note that you can tell it exactly which parameters you want to see. For example, if you couldn’t care less about the barometric pressure, but the current wind speed is important to you, then you can choose to omit the one and display the other in the menu bar or on the dock, etc.
Finally, unlike many programs of this type, it is not U.S.-centric. It gets its data from The Weather Channel and weather.com, and can display conditions and forecasts for hundreds of locations worldwide, however the available data isn’t the same for every location. You can add any location to your favorites, or remove it, but what is slightly confusing is that you can add a location through the preferences menu or by using the "Favorites" button in the main window, but you can only remove a location using the "Favorites" button.
And the best part is, WeatherDock 2 is freeware (but the author does accept donations). We happen to think that WeatherDock 2 is far superior to any other weather program we’ve seen on any platform. Download and try it and see weather you agree (sorry about that, we couldn’t resist).
photo credit: TeledyNIt’s a pretty sure bet that you’ll get a more accurate forecast from WeatherDock2 than from the critter in the cage above (in case you’re wondering, that happens to be Wiarton Willie, the resident groundhog for Wiarton, Ontario, Canada).
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