The Weather Channel has recently come out with a free application for the iPhone. The application was a direct response to the weather service industry. In order to attract more subscribers, the Weather Channel took to the internet and released their free iPhone app. Because of this and because it was such a big deal in the industry, the Weather Channel decided to create an application that was much easier to use and less intimidating to a user.
Because of the "lite" way that the Weather Channel made their application, it became very easy for users to sign up and subscribe to the service. There is only one sign up process and it's very user friendly. Even though there was a sign up process, the Weather Channel also made sure that their application was very easy to use and simple. When a user opens the Weather Channel application, they don't see a long list of options. They only see a series of options on the home screen. The only options on the home screen are sign up, subscribe, and the top three location options. While it's very intuitive for a user to navigate around these buttons, it also takes some of the burden off of the person who is downloading the app.
Free software is great and these types of apps can benefit any company or organization. This is also a perfect example of how free software has the potential to be used by a business or organization in order to boost the way that they communicate and deliver their services. With the Weather Channel, it is easy to use and provides a good piece of information to a user. Using an application like this allows the company to get the name of a user and market them more efficiently. This is a good example of how free and open source software can be used to enhance a company's business.
