Yahoo's new weather app that was released today just replaced my Apple weather app, and probably for good. Why? Because it's outstandingly beautiful thanks to Flickr image integration. Rather than just showing bland vectors of sun and clouds, Yahoo has backed up their accurate weather forecasting with geolocated imagery from Flickr users. So pretty...
The images are always changing and it keeps my app interesting, something I never expected out of something as generally boring as weather. I haven't seen a terrible photo yet, so it's likely there is some kind of selective filtering going on. Whatever the case may be, Yahoo might have just helped stop the bleeding of their growing irrelevance.
You can download it now on at App Store.
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10 Comments
I love you.
Really cool app! Just wish the app icon was a little prettier.
I totally agree with that.
How does that fit with I.P law and copyright? Not forgetting the Eifle tower has its lighting design copyrighted so did Yahoo pay for using that image?
I'm also curious. At first, I thought Flickr would just used the images that are set as creative commons and put proper attributions, but the screenshots above show copyrighten stuff as well.
Digging through Yahoo's TOS,
9
b. With respect to photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Yahoo! Services other than Yahoo! Groups, the license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and publicly display such Content on the Yahoo! Services solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available. This license exists only for as long as you elect to continue to include such Content on the Yahoo! Services and will terminate at the time you remove or Yahoo! removes such Content from the Yahoo! Services.
I'm still kind of flakey as to what "the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available", made a jurist could help us here.
They do talk about it on their blog here:
http://blog.flickr.net/en/2011/05/13/at-flickr-your-photos-are-always-y…
So, I guess they suppose that the weather app is part of Flickr itself. The examples they show on the site make more sense however, they're basically saying you allow us to show the images on your personal page, searches or through the image's URL but this seams like something else to me. (However are they just pooling up any image, they might actually be using a limited set of images for which they worked the rights with the copyright owners).
I'm not sure how they deal with images that cottain things that have a copyright them selves. That being said, they shouldn't even be on Flickr in first place, per Yahoo's TOS.
I know how Apple-centric you guys can be, but posting a link to the identical app on the Google Play store shouldn't be too much of an inconvenience: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yahoo.mobile.client.a…
I just downloaded this app and it is great. It even has pictures of my remote town in China. Cool.
Great app, except the photos for Newcastle Australia aren't of Newcastle Australia...nevermind, it has potential...does it have photographers permission or is it another case of us photographers being ripped off by corporations with billion dollar profits?
If you use Flickr, I'm assuming you gave Yahoo permission in their terms and conditions.
Pretty sure they are working on an android version. Probably did an iOS one first because they already provide the weather data for the iPhone default app (probably wanted to show apple what they could do design wise). Though this app was a stand alone app by Yahoo. Agreed, nicely done!