Plus for The Weather Channel for Mac

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on March 12, 2013

People often want to check the weather quickly without navigating to a separate Web site. Plus for The Weather Channel for Mac, despite its small price, has a number of features for tracking the weather from the desktop.

Available as a paid app for $1.99, there is no free version for trial. Since Plus for The Weather Channel for Mac is purchased through the Mac App Store, download and installation completed quickly without any user actions. Technical support appears limited to program updates, and there are no formal instructions. The clean interface is easy to use for anyone familiar with The Weather Channel's main Web page. By default, it lists New York weather, but this is easy to change by searching in the main text bar. You can save favorites and new default locations. Buttons along the top of the display allow you to easily navigate between different forecasts and options. In addition to these basic features, the program's additional indicators provide more notifications. Along the dock, the program icon shows basic weather information, as does a button on the top menu near the wireless indicator. This allows you to quickly check the current weather with one click, saving steps and desktop space as compared with using the full Web site.

Though it's a paid app, the low cost and features are easy to use and work well. Still, the limited purpose means Plus for The Weather Channel for Mac would likely help those who check the weather constantly, rather than the average user.