Twitterrific
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Tapbots shuts down Tweetbot as it pivots to Mastodon
Tweetbot has shut down due to Twitter's ban on third-party apps, but a Mastodon client is taking its place.
Twitter delays the shutdown of legacy notification APIs until August
Last year, Twitter announced that it would be replacing its Site Streams, User Streams and Direct Message endpoints with its new Account Activity API -- a move that some noted would impact features like push notifications and automatic refresh in third-party apps like Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Talon and Tweetings. Initially, those legacy services were scheduled to be retired in June, but due to outcry over a lack of necessary migration time, Twitter decided to delay the deprecation date. Today, Twitter announced that the Account Activity API is now available to all developers and the legacy services will be retired on August 16th.
Third-party Twitter client Twitterrific is back on macOS
Twitterrific has been through quite a few iterations.The Iconfactory's first third-party Twitter client originally launched for Mac then languished (thanks in part to Twitter's user caps) while the company focused all its efforts on an iOS version. That was pretty sad for the company that originated the term "Tweet." In February of this year, however, the developer took to Kickstarter to fund the development of an all-new macOS Twitter client. The project is now a reality: Twitterrific for macOS is available for $20 in the Mac App Store.
Twitterrific 5 for Mac and Twitter's war on developers
Twitterrific, a Twitter client from developer Iconfactory, has been a popular cross-platform way to send and receive tweets for years. Now Mike Beasley at 9to5Mac is reporting that the company may never release the long-awaited Twitterrific 5 for Mac, explaining that Twitter's policy of limiting the number of users for third-party apps through a limit on API tokens is making it difficult for developers like Iconfactory to consider creating Twitter apps at all. Twitter set an API token limit of 100,000 per application back in August of 2012, with the social media giant promising to work with developers who needed more tokens. Almost immediately, several Windows and Windows Phone apps ran into the limit, and the developers were forced to discontinue their apps since new users would be unable to log into Twitter. The issue has since spilled over into the Android world, and now it seems to be causing Iconfactory to reconsider updating the desktop Twitterrific app. Beasley talked with Ged Maheux of Iconfactory about the API token limit, who confirmed that it's one of the main reasons Twitterrific for Mac hasn't been updated to version 5 and may never be. Sadly, Twitter itself has seemingly given up on development of its in-house Twitter app, with no progress on a revised Twitter for Mac since project lead Ben Sandofsky left the company in May of 2014. The bottom line, as noted by Beasley, is that Twitter appears to want to make web browsers the default gateway into the social network rather than native apps. The service forces desktop users into less-than-stellar first-party apps (Twitter for Mac and TweetDeck, for example) instead of working with developers to create a better experience for all. The solution to the problem is for Twitter to get rid of the API token limit. Whether or not that will ever happen is up to Twitter, of course. There's more detail in Beasley's post, so be sure to give it a read.
Several BBC iOS apps acting up, more news for April 17, 2014
There are a couple of nice app updates this morning, plus an automation solution with what will likely be a short-lived name. Several users have noted that the BBC's iPlayer app, Sky Go and Now TV for iOS have stopped streaming video. The BBC is aware of the problem and, while still unaware of what's causing the issue, is working to find and fix it. So hold tight, folks! Twitterrific has been updated to version 5.7.2 which adds a new "edit tweet" feature. It lets you delete a tweet, and then it opens up an edit screen. Also, make sure to shake your phone while Twiterrific 5.7.2 is on the theme panel. A few University of Pennsylvania students have come up with a way to push Siri commands through a proxy, opening up a whole host of real-world actions for it to take. The service, which they're calling GoogolPlex (good luck keeping that name) is interesting, but I'm not convinced it's quicker than just turning on the lights yourself. Pixelmator has posted a teaser video promoting its upcoming release, codemaned "Sandstone." It features a very impressive Repair Tool. Watch a video demo here. Goodbye, mom and dad!
Daily Update for January 22, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some of the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Twitterrific 5.6 adds streaming, list editing plus price drop
The Iconfactory has released Twitterrific 5.6 for iPhone and iPad (universal), with great new features and a sale price of US$0.99. One big feature is streaming. Now, users on WiFi can opt to have their stream update in real time. Version 5.6 also improves list management, letting you add and remove lists as well as add people to/remove people from an existing list. Finally, you can create new lists right within the app. I have a list of people and businesses who are in my greater neighborhood. It's useful not only for seeing what friends and neighbors are up to, but I get updates from local business, food trucks and, on snowy days like today, the Cape Cod Red Cross. Twitterrific has been my iOS Twitter client of choice for years. These updates and a nice sale make it more than worth picking up.
Twitterrific 5 gains redesigned profile layout, more
The extremely popular third-party Twitter client Twitterrific 5 has been updated with several new features, including a redesigned profile layout, a new pull-to-refresh animation, the ability to view banners with a tap and the ability to swipe up words on iPhoto and the image viewer to dismiss it. Twitterrific has always been on point with adding new features and taking advantage of new iOS hardware and APIs. It was updated in September to support iOS 7's look and feel and again updated in October to support the 64-bit A7 chipset. The app has received critical acclaim for offering users features that the official Twitter client app lacks. Here's a complete list of all the improvements and bug fixes and the latest version of Twitterrific: What's New in Version 5.5.3 IMPROVEMENTS • New layout for user profiles • New pull-to-refresh animation • View profile banners by tapping on them • Swipe upwards on a photo in the image viewer to dismiss • Various performance enhancements throughout the app BUG FIXES • Fixed a bug that prevented users from being displayed in people search • Fixed a bug where the pull-to-refresh control would disappear • Pinning the sidebar open on iPad doesn't prevent VoiceOver timeline access • Reauthorization not needed after refreshing in the background while locked • Scrolling past DMs and mentions now properly marks them as read • Deleted tweets no longer re-appear after refreshing • Fixes for various crash on launch issues Twitterrific 5 is a universal app and for a limited time it's 50 percent off, so it will only cost you US$2.99.
Twitterrific 5.2 brings push notifications, one handful of testers at a time
More than a few iOS-based Twitter users were happy to see Twitterrific 5 appear late last year with a fresh design, but were less than thrilled to go without the push notifications that many take for granted in other apps. Equality has come through Twitterrific 5.2 -- for some, at least. The upgrade at last pops up interactions as they happen, with a symbol to indicate whether it's a conversation, favorite or retweet. Push delivery isn't guaranteed at this point, however. Iconfactory is currently rolling out the beta-level feature to users in batches of 1,000 to avoid oversaturating its servers; you may have to wait awhile. The impatient still get some upgrades to sate their appetite, though, including user banners on profiles, discussion sharing through email and Droplr content thumbnails. If you're willing to pay $6 ($3 on sale) for more than what Twitter gives away for free, the new version may be a good excuse to try something new.
Twitterrific for iOS updated to 5.1, brings 'Muffling,' inline Flickr previews and more
There are more Twitter client updates this week. Today it's Twitterrific for iOS, updated to version 5.1. The update brings some new features, which are sure to enhance the Twitterrific experience. Alongside a plethora of bug fixes and improvements, Twitterrific has added the following new features: Muffling, which allows you to silence users, hashtags and domains (settings are synced across devices using iCloud). Img.ly, Mobypicture and Twitpic have been added to Twitterrific's image service lineup. Finally, Avenir font has been added to themes, but only for iOS version 6 and upwards. Notable improvements: You'll now get Flickr previews in your timeline as well as slideshow view for Flickr photos. For additional details on the update, check out Twitterrific on the iOS App Store. The update is available now for existing Twitterrific users, through the iOS App Store or available to purchase at US$2.99. [via The Icon Factory]
TUAW Talkcast: Tim Cook's media day, Twitterrific new look
Last week NBC delivered a pretty big scoop: Tim Cook's first television interview since taking over the top spot at Apple. He also had an extensive interview/profile in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, where he went into a bit more depth on some of the same topics covered on TV. The interview with anchor Brian Williams on Rock Center may have provoked more questions than it answered (Which Macs will be manufactured in the States? What does "an area of intense interest" mean, anyway?), but it did provide a somewhat higher profile for the publicity-averse CEO. We'll dive into Cook's interview as topic #1 on tonight's Talkcast. Tim Cook's big debut -- unfortunately accompanied by a less-than-stellar week for Apple's stock -- wasn't the only announcement of note. The Iconfactory's killer Twitter app Twitterrific hit version 5.0, and our frequent guest Gedeon Maheux will join us to talk about the development process, the redesign, and what's changed in the universe of Twitter client apps since Twitter began to make things uncomfortable. The show is meant to be interactive -- so call in and interact! To participate live during the show, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
Twitterrific 5 for iOS gives the classic Twitter app new wings
The original Twitter app for iPhone has undergone an extreme makeover. Iconfactory has launched Twitterrific 5 (US$2.99 for a limited time, $5.99 regular price) on the App Store, ushering in a comprehensive interface overhaul that I've become absolutely smitten with since I started using the app a few days ago. Look As a longtime Tweetbot aficionado, Twitterrific's design overhaul was initially a bit shocking in its simplicity. The default timeline view places an emphasis on the text of tweets, displaying them in larger-than-average type with wide-line spacing on a solid background. The result is clean, clutter-free and easy on the eyes. What really makes Twitterrific stand out, however, is the ease with which you can customize its already lovely aesthetic. Using a dedicated appearance panel, you can select from five different fonts (Helvetica, Proxima Nova, Signika, Museo Slab and Calluna), increase and decrease the font size, resize or remove avatars, change line spacing and toggle between a light and dark theme. This panel also has its own brightness slider independent of the device's. Overall, there's a high degree of customization. What's more, you can have Twitterrific automatically switch to the dark theme during nighttime hours, which has ended up being even nicer than it sounds. The interface is smooth and fast, with secondary screens such as the built-in browser and image viewer sliding into and out of view quickly and moving between screens is lightning fast, even on my iPhone 4. Followers and followed users are presented in a unique grid view of their names and avatars, which is a nice touch, especially if you're like me and associate the people you follow mostly with their pictures. %Gallery-172760% Use Twitterrific's interface is kept very clean. This is possible because most of its functionality is hidden until you either tap or swipe. For instance, tapping on a tweet makes reply, retweet, favorite and advanced options icons appear below it. The two most commonly used actions -- reply and view conversation -- are tied to right and left swipes on tweets. It works great. Tapping your avatar in the upper-left corner of the screen brings up a menu where you can access your own tweets and favorites, a search field, saved searches and lists. On the iPad, this menu can be pinned permanently to the left-hand side in landscape view. Twitterrific's advanced settings let you choose between iCloud and Tweet Marker as sync services, decide sync behavior, enable/disable notification sounds and turn the unified timeline on and off. The latter uses color coding to differentiate tweet types, something I've loved in previous versions and has thankfully made the cut for this fifth iteration. Twitterrific 5 has pull-to-refresh. It's not an innovation by any means, but the animated egg icon the slowly cracks revealing Ollie, the app's mascot who flaps his wings while loading, is absolutely charming. It's little touches like this that showcase Iconfactory's attention to design and really give the app a polished feel. Wish List Of course, as much as I'm liking Twitterrific 5, there are some things I'd love to see. For one, more swipe integration would be great, such as when you want to return to your timeline from an image or browser window. A simple swipe to the right a la Flipboard would cut down on taps. Also, the ability to chose reply or reply all, and to determine the RT type you'd like to use each time, would be great. And maybe I'm missing it, but there's no quick way to clear a draft tweet. Conclusion Twitterrific 5 is a beautiful, fast and clearly very well-thought out Twitter client that delivers a "pure" reading experience without a distracting interface. Its view customization options are awesome. It's not quite as feature-rich as Tweetbot, but I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to heavy users, especially if like me, you want to spend hours staring at something that looks as good as it functions.
Twitterrific 5 for Twitter going live for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users
Twitter's API rules haven't exactly made life grand for third-party clients, but that's not stopping one of the larger names in the sector from pumping out a redesigned version of its famed app for iPhone 5 and iPad. The Iconfactory's Twitterrific 5 for Twitter (yes, that's the full name) is now available in regions where it's official December 6th, with the rest of the world expected to see it in the coming hours. It's a completely overhauled and redesigned effort, boasting a unified timeline, support for Apple's newest iOS devices, "robust" VoiceOver support, custom themes, pull to refresh, and plenty of other power options for those who'd be willing to pay for such luxuries. Heck, there's even offline support for posting, favoriting and following. Early adopters should be able to snag a copy for under $5, but the introductory fare is slated to expire at an undetermined point in the future.
Twitterrific 4.1 for iOS released, includes username auto-complete and spam reporting
Here's something to write up to 140 characters about. The Iconfactory deployed version 4.1 of its award winning Twitter client, Twitterrific, to the App Store on Thursday. The new version offers users a smorgasbord of enhancements and bug fixes. Macworld's "Twitter Client of the Year" in 2010 and a favorite among many of us here at TUAW, Twitterrific is available for free as an ad-supported version. An in-app upgrade allows customers to ditch the advertisements and manage multiple Twitter accounts for US$4.99. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad and requires iOS 4.0 or later. Continue reading to see a full listing of new features and bug fixes offered in Twitterrific version 4.1.
Use TextExpander and Twitterrific to avoid Twitter spam
If you post to Twitter and say the word "iPhone" or "iPad," you are likely to get hit with one of the rash of Twitter spammers who search through Twitter for people who post about those terms and @reply to them with some "deal" (usually offering you a chance to "win" a "free" iPad or iPhone). I have been trying to remember to not say those words on Twitter, or to spell them differently, such as "iPxd" or "iPhxne," or use "lookalike" characters such as "¡Phone" (that's an inverted "!" instead of an "i"). I keep forgetting, though, and every time I do -- wham! I get more spam. So I finally decided to let my computer do the thinking for me. I created a new "Group" in TextExpander, and I told it to only expand in Twitterrific (my desktop Twitter app of choice). Then I created two shortcuts: "ipad" and "iphone" and told TextExpander to ignore the case (so if I type "iPhone" or "iphone" it will match both). Then I created my alternate spellings for each word. Now I don't have to remember to purposefully misspell them for Twitter (and ruin my muscle memory for typing them properly in other instances), and I can avoid some of the Twitter spammers. I trust my followers are smart enough to know what I mean when I talk about my new iPāÐ! Note: experienced TextExpander users may note that the color of the shortcuts above indicates a "conflict" for those two shortcuts. That's because I have "ipad" and "iphone" shortcuts in my "stable" group, which auto-capitalizes them correctly even if I don't type the capital "P" myself. However, when TextExpander finds a "conflict" between two identical shortcuts, it uses the first one that it finds, so my Twitterrific group (since it is listed at the top) will override my other shortcuts. P.S. Happy 5th birthday, Twitter! I hope you fix your spam problem -- and the trending topic bar in your app, and stop treating third-party developers like unwelcome guests despite the fact that they are responsible for much of your success -- soon!
The best iOS apps I used in 2010
After looking back over Mac and Mac/iOS hybrid apps, it's time to look at the best iOS apps of 2010. As before, this list comes from my particular experience over the past year with these apps. 1) iCab Mobile (US$1.99, universal) is a replacement for mobile Safari. While it is hindered by the fact that iOS doesn't have anywhere to set a "default browser," and therefore most URLs that you open from the Springboard or email/Twitter/etc... will open in Safari, iCab offers plenty of features that make it worth the effort. It is the first app on my dock, and I much prefer it over Safari. Although it uses the same rendering engine as Safari, it comes with a host of features that Safari doesn't have. iCab Mobile will let you download files, which you can either offload to your computer later or upload to Dropbox from right within the app. Tap and hold an image, and you can save it right to your Dropbox. iCab on the iPad also does "real" tabs, with a visible tab present (it will auto-hide when not needed, if you want). You can set it to open links in new tabs, or open only links to different domains in new tabs. It has content filtering built-in, as well as module support for things like Instapaper, viewing HTML source or even downloading videos from YouTube. It also has a forms manager and a kiosk mode, and as Mike pointed out in November it supports VGA mirroring for presentation use. Web browsing is one of the primary uses of my iPad, and iCab Mobile is well worth the minimal asking price. Find out more at iCab Mobile's website. See the rest of my choices below.
Iconfactory gives a sneak peek at Twitterrific 4
Iconfactory has given a sneak peek at its upcoming Twitterrific version 4 for the Mac. There's no information yet on pricing or release date, but it will require Snow Leopard "...because of some new features." The announcement includes a screenshot but not much more. In fact, if you look carefully you can see that the screenshot shows a DM from @twitterrific saying "Make sure you don't show them everything in the screenshot, it's always nice to have some surprises!" What a tease. The announcement also reminds us that the 'Factory has been hard at work on other apps, like Pickin' Time and the recently released Take Five, not to mention the iPhone and iPad versions of Twitterrific. If you missed last night's Talkcast, Ged Maheux was our guest, and shared some of his initial thoughts about the Mac App Store. You can listen or download to the episode here. Twitterrific was my first Twitter app and I still love it on the iPad, but the Mac version...well, the Mac version has gotten a bit long in the tooth. I can't wait to see what gets done in version 4. Code faster, guys!
Twitterrific 3 for the iPad: change, tough love, and better
Here's a good sign that you've made some pretty significant changes to your application: three different people from the company write three different posts about the new design. That's what the folks from Iconfactory did about Twitterrific 3. David Lanham wrote about Redesigning Twitterrific, not just the timeline, but also the settings, contacts, filtering, and more to "optimize the user experience." Gedeon Maheux wrote about Twitterrific's Tough Love, and realizing that Twitterrific had gotten out of hand, along with the steps they took to make it better rather than just pile more on top of it. Craig Hockenberry wrote about not designing for early adopters, whose expectations may limit making something better by expecting you to simply build on what you had before. I was an early adopter of Twitterrific on the Mac, and still compare all other applications to Twitterrific when I am using them. When I first heard about the changes in Twitterrific 3, I was sure I was going to hate them. After having used it for awhile, I still think Twitterrific is my favorite iPad app. I've been using it since I bought my iPad back in mid-June, and although I've tried some of the others, I keep coming back to Twitterrific. Many others have just started using Twitterrific 3 for the iPhone or iPad because Twitter turned off "basic authorization" logins. All Twitter applications now must use Twitter's (severely, thoroughly flawed) OAuth system for logging in. Read on for my thoughts on the app, as well as what TUAW heard directly from Iconfactory about the future of the app.
Official Twitter app updated for iPad
A few months ago, Twitter announced that they had acquired Tweetie and the web (I refuse to use the word "blogosphere" because it is a stupid word) exploded with predictions that they had effectively killed off the market for 3rd party Twitter applications by offering a free alternative. With the release of Twitter as a universal app that now includes iPad support (read the official announcement here) I feel confident that the reports of the death of 3rd party Twitter applications have been greatly exaggerated. The UI for Twitter for iPad is, without question, unlike any other Twitter application that we've seen. Opinions around the TUAW offices differ on whether this difference is "awesome" or "an abomination." I definitely range towards the latter end of the scale, and judging by most of the comments of people that I follow on Twitter, the initial reaction is definitely one of "too busy" and "over designed." This is in sharp contrast to Twitterrific, which just released a major update for the iPad and iPhone where the Iconfactory made dramatic simplifications to the app, while retaining the most important features for the most users. (Craig Hockenberry talked about those changes here.)
Five apps I love on my iPad, and three that need more work
We've had the iPad available for the better part of a week now; here are a few apps that have risen to the top, along with a few more that have sunk to the bottom. 1. GoodReader. Despite Air Sharing going iPad (I had the iPhone version) and MobileStudio providing a nifty universal binary (so the app upscales nicely), I decided to give GoodReader a try. It now sits in my dock. MobileStudio requires FTP, and I wasn't in the mood to drop more cash on AirSharing Pro as I've already spent way too much on apps. I also tried MyPDFs and iPDF but felt they were too limited and rushed to be useful to me. GoodReader, however, hits the spot as a wonderful and capable PDF reader. Plus, it'll read text, image, audio and video files and anything that can be opened by Safari. I'm using GoodReader to manage some big PDF files, upwards of 200MB each, and it handles everything brilliantly. It also plays .mov files. Granted, this performance is thanks in part to the powerful processor in the iPad, but the speed boost in working with PDFs is a welcome change to my now-cramped iPhone readers. There are a few UI tweaks that could be made when managing files, it's true. Still, adding folders, moving things around, and so on, are all there like a little mini-Finder. Piling a bunch of data into your iPad is easy and will look good. %Gallery-89961%
