The Weather Channel has recorded 488,000 registered users for its Desktop Weather application, a service that offers temperature and weather information without requiring a visit to weather.com.
Downloadable from weather.com and download.com, the application is automatically activated when a computer is turned on and can be reduced to the size of an icon. The device allows people to receive a data feed over the Internet without opening a browser.
Since its debut five months ago, Desktop Weather has averaged 4.2 million page views a month and ranks 18th in the weather category, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.
“We feel pretty certain that a huge majority [of users] are at-work users,” said Stacy Kirk, spokesman of weather.com, Atlanta.
Desktop Weather refreshes every 30 minutes under normal conditions and every 15 minutes if the weather conditions are severe.
Served for free, the service boasts five content channels — golf, health, travel, home and garden, and driving. An advertiser will support one of these content channels in a couple of weeks.
“Travel seems to be the place where our first advertiser will appear,” Kirk said.
