For those who haven’t caught on yet, twitter is an example of web based technology that embraces a rapidly growing community by asking just one question: What are you doing?
Now, one can keep the world informed, via SMS, IM, or the website itself with any number of length restricted updates. But that can get a bit tedious after a time if one has to keep a web browser open, right? Which is why enterprising individuals and businesses have started building numerous twitter applets that communicate via the API.
For those fortunate enough to have a mac at their disposal, twitterific seems to be the most widely used and loved applet for the task at hand. Those on the Windows platform have a few options, however tweetr really stands out as one of the single best I have used.
I have tried a few others, but I just keep coming back to relative simplicity and ease of posting, that is afforded by the Adobe Apollo powered tweetr — which can also run on the mac platform, again thanks to Adobe’s Apollo engine.
I mean, just look at it..
Like an IM client, one simply types in a message (in this case, what it is one is doing, at that time) then press enter and within moments, twitter will update the status. Want to share a link to some cool new Internet resource? Simply add that to your message as well and the client will translate it to a short url (via the very handy services of urltea) saving precious characters in the process.
Indeed the automated url shortening feature is a huge plus. It turns a (usual) three step process (copy url, parse through url shortening service, paste result into client) into a single change on-the-fly. And if that’s not needed (or wanted) a tap of ctrl-z and the results are reversed. Shiny.
And for such a lightweight client, the features are brilliant:
- › Adjustable font size
- › Shortens long url’s via urltea.com
- › ctrl+z to undo the url-shorten
- › @name is now a link
- › scrollable message window
- › Audio alert (can be turned off)
- › Add any “tweet” to your favourites (just click the little star)
The list goes on.. And for Windows users, quite used to having to left and right click through any number of menu options, configuration is a refreshingly simple matter of tapping the appropriate tabs at the top right of the client..
Setting options is an entirely painless affair — again note the simple, clean interface.
Finding the font to small, or too large? Change it.
The client uses an idea familiar to some Linux and most OS X users — the interface spins as though glued to a cube, to present each option page or function. When you click the option tap, the interface spins to the options page — once updated it spins right back. Yes, I am aware this kind of navigational functionality is built right in to OS X 10.x, but for a windows user? A rare joy indeed.
This simple navigational idea reduces clutter and makes the client extremely simple to drive. Applets such as these are often over powered and armed with every conceivable feature - tweetr is living proof that the old adage “less is more”, is still very, very true.
I would encourage you to check this client out if you’re a tweeting fiend. It’s just that good.
≡ This is a journal entry relating to the topics of adobe, apollo, software, tweetr, twitter.
Brendan Borlase is a Systems and Network Administrator living in Adelaide, Australia, having lived, worked and breathed Information Technology for over 12 years. Learn more.
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