Jump to content

30sec_exposures_2021.jpg.48851b1871a4bf9500ebd53c3e790d81.jpg

 

 

Clear Outside Astronomy Weather App for Android

FLO

By FLO,
in Sponsor Announcements and Offers

 Share

Recommended Posts

FLO

FLO

Posted
Posted

The Clear Outside app for Android has been released and is available to download from Google Play. 

Clear Outside astronomy weather forecasts

This is our first Android app. It has been tested by a small group of private users prior to release but will remain in beta until we are confident it is stable and robust.
A huge thank-you to all the beta testers. You have been fantastic   :icon_salut:
Please let us know if you have any suggestions and if you find a bug we'll squish it ASAP  :smile:
Hope you like it... 
Steve & the FLO team. 
  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 64
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

FLO
FLO

The Clear Outside app for Android has been released and is available to download from Google Play.  Clear Outside astronomy weather forecasts This is our first Android app. It has been tested by a sma

FLO
FLO

Grant stayed up all night investigating cathalferris concern so I am reposting his response this morning.  I can understand someone being suspicious when a retailer offers something free of charge but

purdo
purdo

Just downloaded it, thank you.

FLO

FLO

Posted
  • Author
Posted

A brief history for those who might not have heard of Clear Outside :smile: 

Back in June 2014 we released the Clear Outside weather forecast site for astronomers wanting to plan their observing sessions. 

In November 2014 we released a Clear Outside App for IOS (iPhone). Today we have released the Android version. 
Clear Outside is built entirely in-house and is available free of charge, it is our thank-you to you the astronomy community for your support over the years. 
Features include
  • Seven-day hourly forecasts, updated hourly. 
  • Low, medium and high cloud cover. 
  • Detailed Sun and Moon rise, set and meridian data. 
  • Civil, nautical and astronomical darkness. 
  • Space Station (ISS) pass over times. 
  • All data, including ISS times, is accurately modelled on your precise longitude/latitude. 
For accuracy we use an aggregate of a number of weather models including the UK Met Office, the Norwegian Met Office and the American NOAA. Forecasts are also updated hourly because the clear sky between showers often provides the best seeing conditions and 30-min sessions under a dark sky with a grab-&-go telescope are golden. 
For reliability and long-term stability we have invested in commercial weather data services and a dedicated infrastructure. 
We have had fun building Clear Outside and hope you find it useful. We are also keen to develop it further so if you have any thoughts or suggestions please let us know. And if you find a bug we'll happily squash it! 
Thank-you, 
Steve and the FLO team. 
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grant_FLO

Grant_FLO

Posted
Posted

Hi cathalferris,

Firstly, let me reassure you - the Clear Outside app does not need any of that information, it doesn't request any of that information and it certainly does not store or transmit any personal information. If you check the security settings for the app you will see the only things it needs access to is the network (to download forecasts) and your location (to display the forecast at your 'current' location). That's it! :) You don't even have to grant it access to your location if you don't want (but the current location function will not work).

I had not heard of Xprivacy before you mentioned it so I've spent some time over the past few hours installing it and testing it.

I cannot see anywhere in Xprivacy where it suggests the Clear Outside app accesses phone number, phone details and identification. I can see that it does access something within the 'Phone' section but if you expand it out, you will see the only thing it accesses is the network Country code information.

If you are seeing any other flags in XPrivacy that indicate the Clear Outside app has tried to access them, please take a screenshot and either post here or PM me, it would enable me to investigate further.

Thanks,

Grant

Link to comment
Share on other sites
prusling

prusling

Posted
Posted

Many thanks for this app. I've been using the web version for some time and this will be very useful.

One minor issue that can affect a number of apps, I have a large phablet and generally use the large text option in accessibility settings, otherwise scaled down normal text can be harder to read. Although the app still works in this mode the change in size of the title to the left of each row means that it gets out of alignment with the corresponding row. Not sure how easy it would be to fix this - it's not a big issue.

Thanks again

Link to comment
Share on other sites
prusling

prusling

Posted
Posted

Many thanks for this app. I've been using the web version for some time and this will be very useful.

One minor issue that can affect a number of apps, I have a large phablet and generally use the large text option in accessibility settings, otherwise scaled down normal text can be harder to read. Although the app still works in this mode the change in size of the title to the left of each row means that it gets out of alignment with the corresponding row. Not sure how easy it would be to fix this - it's not a big issue.

Thanks again

Re-reading my post it's more driven by the display resolution (full HD in my case) rather than the screen size so this may be an issue for more people as resolution increases and more people may want to use larger text sizes (although the way large text is handled may be phone specific?). Are there other ways to allow apps to scale with resolution / screen size?

Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FLO

FLO

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Firstly, let me reassure you - the Clear Outside app does not need any of that information, it doesn't request any of that information and it certainly does not store or transmit any personal information. If you check the security settings for the app you will see the only things it needs access to is the network (to download forecasts) and your location (to display the forecast at your 'current' location). That's it! :) You don't even have to grant it access to your location if you don't want (but the current location function will not work).

Grant stayed up all night investigating cathalferris concern so I am reposting his response this morning. 

I can understand someone being suspicious when a retailer offers something free of charge but rest assured Clear Outside really is a gift to the astronomy community, not some cynical wheeze to obtain personal information  :angel:

HTH, 

Steve 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stargazer33

Stargazer33

Posted
Posted (edited)

Couldn't find the app on 'Play Store' after searching through 250 apps! Why it showed me things like 'Nigerian Newspaper' when I searched for 'Clear Outside' I don't know!!! :icon_scratch: :icon_scratch: :icon_scratch:   So I had to download it from the site link above. It wasn't compatible with my Samsung Galaxy S Plus, running Gingerbread, but I have managed to load it onto my Hudl 2 tablet.

Edited by southerndiver357
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JG777

JG777

Posted
Posted

On installing it wanted location only, but something is wrong it is clouds until Saturday ! Seriously though it works fine on HTC one and Pegatron Hudl2. Just saved all my observing locations.

Thanks FLO this is genuinely useful.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grant_FLO

Grant_FLO

Posted
Posted

Just realised the text isn't aligned to the images

Hi Knobby,

Darren has reported something similar, he is running an LG G3 and Lollipop too.

I cannot replicate this problem no matter what I try in the Android emulator so it's proving impossible to track down the cause. The two common points are Lollipop (but I've been able to test against several lollipop devices without issue) and the high density screens both devices use.

I'll keep trying :)

Cheers,

Grant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.

  I accept