#9999 - Part 15 - Communiqués et informations

New eWorld Weather Takes the Guesswork out of Mother Nature's Next Move

eWorld, Apple's On-line Service, Launches eWorld Weather: Exclusive, 24-hour Weather Forecasts with Hourly Updates--a First in On-line Weather Reporting

CUPERTINO, California--December 22, 1995--Starting today, boaters, skiers, business travelers, pilots and outdoor recreationalists can now go on-line to obtain timely weather forecasts via eWorld Weather, pioneered by WeatherLabs, Inc. and exclusively available on eWorld, Apple's on-line Service. Unlike other on-line weather services, eWorld Weather offers four choices for understanding the day's weather--morning, day, afternoon, evening and overnight, enabling people to more accurately plan their day. This thorough reporting helps replace ambiguous statements such as, "Partly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain" with more precise information such as, "It will rain this morning, but not this afternoon." Weather observations are provided for nearly 600 U.S. and over 1,000 international locations. Areas include major metropolitan cities, towns, vacation spots and even remote villages.

Each forecast report includes a wide variety of meteorological parameters, or methods by which to gauge Mother Nature. Meteorological jargon is replaced by friendly icons and easy-to- understand terms, appealing to the casual weather watcher. Current conditions and forecasts on eWorld Weather prove more comprehensive than those on other on-line services. For example, conditions include: temperature, comfort index (i.e. wind chill during the winter and heat index during the summer), barometric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, visibility, dew point, relative humidity, sky, precipitation, expected amount of rain or snow and easy-to-understand air conditions (i.e. "dangerously cold"). All forecasts are reported in both Metric and Imperial units for true global usage.

"People who go on-line for weather no longer need to be left out in the cold," said Peter Friedman, vice president and general manager of Apple Internet Services. "We help people avoid surprises and having to cancel plans due to unknown weather conditions."

"WeatherLabs is very pleased to bring its critically acclaimed weather forecasts to the Macintosh community today through eWorld," said Brendan Larson, WeatherLabs' president & CEO. "We've pioneered the art and science of providing detailed 24-hour forecasts, hourly. This is what distinguishes eWorld Weather from other sources of weather information, including those on radio, television and even the Internet!"

eWorld subscribers will find forecasts extended out to three days and international weather maps, indicating weather conditions. The easy-to-navigate user interface allows users to begin viewing major regions of the world or reach further levels of geographical detail.

A weather discussion bulletin board is available for posting weather questions which will be answered by a WeatherLabs meteorologist, such as "How are tornados formed?" or "What is the meaning of the dew point?" Weather chat is available for live on- line chat sessions with special guests such as radio and television weather personalities, research scientists and meteorologists.

eWorld Weather can be viewed by taking the shortcut, Go: weather.

Apple Computer, Inc., an information industry innovator, creates powerful solutions based on easy-to-use personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, on-line services and personal digital assistants. Based in Cupertino, CA, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) develops, manufactures, licenses and markets products, technologies and services for the business, education, consumer, scientific, engineering and government markets in more than 140 countries.

All weather reports, forecasts and related meteorological data are the property and copyright of WeatherLabs, Inc., based in Westmont, IL. The data may not be altered, redistributed, retransmitted, resold or used for any purposes without the prior consent of WeatherLabs, Inc. WeatherLabs is a trademark of WeatherLabs, Inc.

© Mactivity Estonia 1996