Sorry, but I love the subject of weather, so this is an important event for those of us fixated on local forecasting. WRAL, Channel 5, has dropped its long-held tradition (what? 30 years) of giving a 5-day forecast. While other stations have given longer forecasts, WRAL stayed true to its “5” theme and avoided adding two unpredictable days to the forecast; until now .

One of my favorite tips from Chris (at Raleighing) is to add this dynamically-updated jpg to the Windows Active Desktop (versions thru XP, only). To add the WRAL 7-Day Forecast to your desktop, right-click on your Desktop and select Properties | Desktop | Customize Desktop | Web (tab) | New…  Then copy this URL into the window. Hit OK | OK | OK. The graphic will appear on your desktop and can be resized and moved by dragging corners and the title bar. The graphic will update daily and whenever Windows is restarted. To make this graphic appear in the Vista Sidebar, install Eye On The Web and point it to the 7-day forecast URL . Since adding this icon to my desktop, I found myself always prepared for the weather.

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