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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!
Beware the coming Twitpocalypse
Oh, computers. Every time we think we've figured you out, you come up with another number-related disaster for us to fear. This time around, it's the Twitpocalypse -- apparently Twitter decided to use a unique identifier in their API for each separate tweet that goes out, and come sometime this weekend, the number will reach 2,147,483,647 and keep going. Which just happens to be too much for the variable that holds it, and that means that many of your favorite external Twitter clients, from Tweetie to Twitterific, to all of the other magic Twitter apps out there, could go down in a ball of numerically-ignited flame.The good news is that just like the Year 2K panic, this one is more or less unfounded. We've already spoken to our friend Ged Maheux of Twitterrific, and he says that the problem has already been fixed in the latest version of the software. We'd imagine that most of the really big Twitter apps have already addressed the issue, and taken care to make sure they'll still work (either that, or they'll get on it ASAP). Plus, a Twitter outage wouldn't really be anything that might cause riots in the streets (or different from the usual downtime, actually -- rimshot!).But it is funny and strange that as long as we have people who can't foresee the future (so, all of us) programming computers, we'll keep running into problems like this. If your favorite Twitter client goes out on Saturday, just find a basement to stay in, stock up on shotgun shells and water, and put your head between your legs -- help is on the way soon.
$1.7 million for Greensboro Apple Store
I'm not exactly sure why there's so much excitement centered around the upcoming Greensboro Apple Store (my guess is it's because our friend Ged of the Iconfactory can't wait for it to open), but the excitement is there, and Ed Cone has some insight into how the store's deal got put together. Apparently Greensboro won't see the story by December 25th, as there's apparently some argument with the property's owners over whether Apple is "just another computer store" or deserves a better place in the location. You know our answer on that one.An anonymous reader also tells Ed that the store's construction cost a pretty penny -- $1.7 million for 5,873 square feet, according to the building permit. Unfortunately, we're not sure if that's more expensive than usual or not: most retail places seem to cost a little less according to this, but then again, $1.6 million per store for Apple is about right, according to past numbers.Either way, hopefully the wrap will be taken off the store soon -- we don't think Ged can wait that much longer.
Fort Worth University Park Village Apple Store almost there
The picture above is not the actual Fort Worth University Park Apple Store, but we presume it'll look something like this when it opens later this month. Our Twitter buddy Jamie Phelps says that "the innards are finished" and the store should be open within the next week or so. If you were on our last Talkcast, you know how wildly interesting it is to see an Apple Store opening (our own Robert Palmer attended one just last week), so keep an eye on this one, Texans.Of course, we should mention that as incredibly awesome as our readers are, they are not always trustworthy when it comes to Apple Store news. Our good friend Ged Maheux kindly tipped us a little while ago about an Apple Store opening near him in Greensboro ... which then turned out to be a Williams Sonoma instead (the Apple Store is still opening there, but not until next year). We love our readers -- more than is socially accepted in some parts of the world, really -- but as always, take their Apple Store tips with a requisite grain of salt.
Take a CandyBar 3 video tour
If you've ever used CandyBar before, you probably already grabbed version 3 when it was released the other day. But just in case you haven't seen it in action, Ged put together this great screencast of just how easy it makes controlling the look of your icons and Dock. I especially love the icons inside the iContainers in Quick Look-- such a neat, useful touch that's only possible in Leopard.CandyBar, I think, is one of those apps that sounds like you'll never use it when you just read the text (because how often do you change your system icons, really), but once you see just how amazing it is, you can tell it's one of those reasons we're so proud to be Mac owners. I know, I sound like an infomercial, but look at that app! CandyBar 3 is available as a free 15-day/250-icon limit trial, or for the purchase price of $29.
