Use of a browser to access the info....namely laoding the proprietary site is not an issue....you are accessing their data AS INTENDED...hence their provision of the site itself.
Extracting their information in whole or in part, no matter how, what or why will violate their TOU...unless you personally have consent to do so.
I'd strongly suggest people wishing to argue/debate the TWC TOU take an extensive course in Copyright Law or at least flick through a few dubious links on Google.
Fact. TWC obviously now objects to the scope and extent of datamining of their content by any and all methods, including Widgets and has enacted counter measures to prevent further such mining.
Fact. If a widget skinner wants to have a functional and legitimate weather object he will need to either set it to abide by the restrictions imposed by TWC or alter it to adopt/use an alternate data source that has no such limitations/restrictions.
That's it in a nutshell.
I extract skins from Wincustomize. Am I violating your terms of service? I've read the terms of service for both the website and the subscriber feed, which are different, as I've mentioned before, and one doesn't govern the other. You can't just mix them up like you do. Now suppose I go there and extract the weather information, or a file. Do you really think I'm violating the terms?
I've read the Copyright Act a few times, read books on the subject and written contracts. Maybe you should read it. You referred to a mysterious third party in one of your posts. Who is the third party you are talking about? There is the website and me. That's two.
Speaking of violations, Stardock/Wincustomize and the proprietors have allowed and overlooked those violations from the very beginning. TWC copyright claims date back to at least 1999, I forget exactly which year. It's only now that they've crippled the feed that a few people have suddenly become deeply concerned citizens. If you're such an expert on the act, and so concerned, where were you the last few years? Anybody who knows anything about copyrights would know that the data is private property. I'll ask you again, where were you? It's a bit much to get a lecture from someone who's tolerated these violations all this time. For years, you allowed it, and now you're wielding the mighty sword of righteousness in our faces.
