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Tweetbot for Mac arrives on the OS X App Store ... at a hefty price
Tweetbot is the favorite iOS Twitter client of many of the TUAW bloggers, and some of us have jumped on the App.Net client -- Netbot -- from developer Tapbots as well. Tweetbot for Mac has been in beta for quite a while, and now the app is available on the App Store for US$19.99. In this post, I'll provide a first look at this long-awaited Twitter client. To start with, let's get the app price out of the way. Yes, $19.99 is a lot of money to spend on a Twitter client, especially when Twitter makes one available for free and there are plenty of other clients out there that are less expensive. Well, Paul Haddad of Tapbots puts it this way: Because of Twitter's current "token limits" [discussed here], we only have a limited number of tokens available for Tweetbot for Mac. These tokens dictate how many users Tweetbot for Mac can support. The app's limit is separate from, but much smaller than, the limit for Tweetbot for iOS. Once we use up the tokens granted to us by Twitter, we will no longer be able to sell the app to new users. Note, however, that Tapbots will continue to support Tweetbot for Mac for existing customers at that time. Because of this limit and our desire to continue to support the app once we sell out, we've priced Tweetbot for Mac a bit higher than we'd like. We know that this will disappoint some of you, but it's the best thing we can do for the long term viability of the product. If you've used the Alphas/Betas and decided not to purchase please do us a favor and "Revoke access":https://twitter.com/settings/applications; that frees up extra tokens for potential customers. If you'd like to encourage Twitter to raise or eliminate Tweetbot for Mac's token limit, feel free to let them know here:"https://twitter.com/support". So, how does the app stack up? First, comparing it to the official Twitter app is basically unfair to Twitter. Tweetbot for Mac responds quicker than the Twitter app and provides many features: Mute filters for keywords, hashtags, people, or clients Retweets by others The ability to shoot a new avatar photo in-app and more. %Gallery-168618% It's the user interface of Tweetbot for Mac that makes all the difference. To look at the detail of a tweet, you do a two-finger swipe to the left on a trackpad. To view a conversation, it's a two-finger swipe to the right. With Tweetbot, picture thumbnails are shown in tweets where possible; in the official Twitter app, all you're going to see is a link. A click on the Tweetbot picture thumbnail brings it up in full size for easier viewing, and the images load very quickly. If you're currently a fan of Tweetbot for iPhone or iPad, getting Tweetbot for Mac is a no-brainer. Yeah, the $20 price tag is steep (our colleague Chris Rawson notes that it's the same price Apple charges for upgrades to Mountain Lion), but if you're a hard-core Twitter user you deserve this app. While you're at it, send your note to Twitter's support people to have them eliminate the token limit for Tweetbot for Mac.
TweetBot for Mac reaches the Mac App Store, keeps the 3rd-party Twitter client flame alive
When Twitter put out its strict new API guidelines, there was some doubt as to whether or not third-party clients like Tapbots' Tweetbot for Mac would even make the cut -- the user caps and other curbs on unofficial apps potentially made it tough to develop competition around a different (and possibly better) experience. That makes today's official appearance of Tweetbot in the Mac App Store as much symbolic as it is practical. While there won't be many significant shocks for those who've been participating in Tweetbot's alpha and beta stages, the finished version gives everyone running OS X Mountain Lion a major and sometimes more advanced alternative to official choices, such as TweetDeck, as well as existing third-party options like Twitterrific. A $20 price doesn't make Tweetbot the cheapest way to buck convention by any means, but it might be worth the investment if you're already committed to Tapbots' iOS apps or want to make a statement on the value of third parties in an ecosystem.
Pocket Planes coming to Mac, getting animated shorts
Here's an interesting pair of announcements from NimbleBit, the makers of the hit freemium games Tiny Tower and Pocket Planes. First up, Pocket Planes is coming to the Mac App Store. Starting this Thursday (at this link, which doesn't work yet but will when the game is live), players will be able to grab Pocket Planes on the Mac, featuring the same excellent freemium plane simulation gameplay on your desktop computer. The app will sync with the iOS version and feature an exclusive plane, the "X10 Mapple Pro." Pocket Planes is also available through Google Play on Android. Secondly, NimbleBit has commissioned several animated shorts from Loading Ready Run, the first of which is available to watch right now (below). The shorts bring some voices to the plane-riding Bitizens, and a pretty absurd (but chuckle-worthy) premise. There will be a series of these things to come, and Loading Ready Run is also working on some shorts from the Tiny Tower universe. Kind of a different addition to NimbleBit's series, but they're free too, so sure, why not?
Gemini now finds duplicates in iPhoto and iTunes
Gemini from MacPaw is one of those utilities you don't use every day, but is extremely handy to have around. The OS X software excels at finding duplicate files on internal drives, external drives or network volumes. It scans a folder at lightning speed, while giving you the option to view your duplicate files and choose which ones you want to remove. The latest update to Version 1.3 adds the ability to remove duplicates from your iPhoto and iTunes library. The app is a must-have if you're like me and have thousands of photos and song tracks scattered about your drives. Version 1.3 also now supports Mountain Lion and the Retina MacBook Pro. You can find out more about Gemini on MacPaw's website and read through our review of the utility from earlier this year. For a short time, Gemini is on sale for US$6.99 in the Mac App Store. This is a 30 percent discount of its regular $9.99 price tag.
Kindle 8 for Mac adds gesture support
Amazon has released an update to its Kindle app for the Mac that includes support for gestures like panning and swiping on Macs that are running Lion or greater. Kindle users now also have the ability to view the richer formatting available in Kindle Format 8 books. Other changes include improved support for large libraries and better performance for books with lots of notes and highlights The Kindle for Mac app is available for free from the Mac App Store. It lets users access Amazon's Kindle Store, which has over 1 million e-book titles. Users can read books on their Mac and Amazon's WhisperSync service will sync their reading progress on their mobile device. [Via Engadget]
Amazon Kindle Mac app update adds gesture features and visually richer Kindle book support
Amazon has refreshed its Kindle app to include support for swiping and other gesture navigation features for Macs running Lion OS X or higher. It will now display Kindle's new Format 8 books, allowing for more complicated formatting, HTML5 support, pop-up text, embedded fonts and other visual accoutrements to spice up your Mac-based reading. The update also adds Japanese language support alongside the typical pile of bug fixes and tweaks. You can download the new reader from the Mac App Store now, right at the source link below.
Adobe Revel 1.5 released with new UI, text captions and auto-syncing albums
Adobe's cloud-based photo storage and editing app has been enjoying its new name since it hopped off the Carousel, and now it's appreciating a feature bump too. Version 1.5 has just hit the virtual shelves of the Mac and iTunes stores, complete with a new UI and the option to log in using Facebook or Google accounts. Functionality wise, the update adds text captioning for your snaps and the ability to create albums which auto-sync across your devices and can be shared with others via the web. Alright, so the update isn't revolutionizing the service, but we're sure those that currently subscribe are reveling in it.
Pomodorable task management app ready to harvest on the Mac App Store (Updated)
It's gone through a productive growing season, and now Monocle Society's new Mac task management app Pomodorable (US$4.99 introductory pricing) is ready for harvest. The app is designed to help busy workers get things done through Francesco Cirillo's Pomodoro Technique, and it does the job in a unique and inviting way. I was approached early this year by Kyle Kinkade, head of Seattle-based Monocle Society, to beta-test the app, and I'm glad I did. Update: Due to issues with the name of the app being too similar to Cirillo's Pomodoro Technique, the app is being re-released in 2013 as Eggscellent with new features and a less tomato-centric user interface. If you've used one of the other Pomodoro apps in the past, prepare to be blown away by Pomodorable. Most of the previous apps are just timers, letting you know when a 25-minute task period (Pomodoro) is done. Pomodorable does the timing part too, providing a distraction-free floating window that subtly animates the passage of time through a tomato plant with vines that grow longer and fruit (botanically, tomatoes are fruit; legally, they're a vegetable) that slowly ripens from green to juicy red. Pomodorable would be a winner with just the timer, but fortunately there's much more to the app. Hover your mouse above the floating window, and it provides details on exactly how much time is left in the current Pomodoro and how many distractions you've fought. Mountain Lion users will love the integration with Reminders, Notification Center and Notes. You can sync your tasks with Reminders -- add a task to Mountain Lion's built-in task management app, and it appears in the list of Pomodoros so you can get to work on completing it. When a Pomodoro is complete, you hear the timer ring, a Notification Center banner appears, and the completed Pomodoro appears in the list of notifications. Do you like keyboard shortcuts? Pomodorable lets you set shortcuts for toggling windows, stopping the current Pomodoro, or logging an interruption. One of the pitfalls of the Pomodoro Technique is the possibility of distractions. Pomodorable has a way for you to set status messages for Skype, iChat/Messages and Adium to let others know that you're busy getting work done. In case there are interruptions from one of those sources (an external distraction) or you need to stop for some other reason, you can mark them. The choice of a squirrel icon to mark distractions harkens back to Dug the Dog in the movie "Up", a great choice by UI designers Bryan Bell, and Henrik Van Rysin. Users of OmniFocus and Things will also find things to love about Pomodorable, as it integrates with those apps as well. Be sure to take a look at the short promotional video below, and if you're a Pomodoro fan, click your Mac App Store icon immediately and buy this app.
Tweetbot for Mac's latest alpha adds experimental 'snap-together' column layout
Tweetbot's been offering a rough-around-the-edges alpha version on its upcoming refresh for a few weeks now, but it's the latest update that's caught our attention -- again. There's several substantial changes that could tempt you away from other desktop Twitter clients. These include a new multiple account view, with separate columns that can either be docked to your main feed or left in their own window. You can spin out mentions and search results into their own space, and even adjust each column's height and width -- if you're looking to squeeze even more Twitter content into a single screen. A new menu bar icon offers access to your multiple accounts, new tweets, direct messages and mentions, while the latest build also improves support for media upload and Mountain Lion's notification bar. Tweetbot's alpha is still free to try for now, but once the kinks are eventually worked out, expect to pay for the finished article.
Daily Update for July 27, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all 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 inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Marco Arment on the Mac App Store's future
Marco Arment, the creator of Instapaper, weighed in with his thoughts on the future of the Mac App Store. He argued that, unless Apple changes some of its rigid policies, the Mac App Store is doomed. He pointed to the recent departure of the email client Postbox, which in part was the result of Apple's strict sandboxing requirements, as an example of what the future holds for the Mac App Store. Because of Apple's policies, Arment predicts that an increasing number of developers are going to leave the Mac App Store. Arment writes, "The problem with sandboxing isn't that any particular app is incompatible with the current entitlements. It's a deeper problem than that: Apple is significantly reducing the number of apps that can be sold in the Store after people have already bought them." This developer departure will not only affect developers, it will also affect customers who bought a piece of software that is now gone from the App Store. Arment says that even he has "lost all confidence that the apps I buy in the App Store today will still be there next month or next year." It isn't just sandboxing that's causing some developers to leave. The lack of a paid upgrade system, no access to important customer information and no volume discounts are making some developers return to selling their software through their own storefronts. Arment makes a compelling argument for buying apps directly from the developer instead of through the Mac App Store, even through the App Store is convenient. You should take the time to read his post and consider what he says the next time you click on the "Buy App" button. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Mountain Lion 101: Gatekeeper controls app launches for security's sake
Gatekeeper isn't the most obvious feature of the new OS X Mountain Lion system that you probably downloaded and installed yesterday, but it might be one of the most important. Gatekeeper essentially oversees a list of verified developers who have applied for and received a Developer ID from Apple. It also allows you to specify whether your Mac will install apps only from the App Store, from the App Store and this list, or from anywhere you want. If you choose the Mac App Store only, you'll be able to make sure that everything you install has gone through Apple's approval process, which is about as protected from malware as you can get. When you installed Mountain Lion, every app that was already on your Mac got a free pass as far as Gatekeeper is concerned. The apps were grandfathered in as already having been run and cleared; since Gatekeeper works by preventing the first launch of an app, those apps are OK. In fact, you can keep the "Mac App Store and identified developers" setting turned on for safety while still installing and running non-signed apps; just right-click (or control-click) the unsigned app and choose Open. Gatekeeper will prompt you for a single-app exemption and if you're OK with it, the app will launch from then on. Now, not everybody appreciates Apple's "walled garden." Some developers take issue with the fact that they need to be "verified" by Apple before releasing and running software on the Mac. Gatekeeper is also responsible for "sandboxing" applications, which means keeping applications from changing files on parts of your computer that they don't usually interact with (though this does cause problems for apps that do want to dip into your personal system files, usually just to make things easier on you). At any rate, sandboxing and Gatekeeper are a reality for now. If you want to tweak your Gatekeeper settings, you can find them in the System Preferences screen under Security and Privacy. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Farewell, Lion, you've served us well; Apple removes 10.7 from App Store
Apple has apparently dropped OS X Lion from the Mac App Store. Those who have purchased it are still seeing it in their purchases list, though some TUAW staffers are saying they're not able to download it. I wasn't able to download it on my MacBook Pro, though I was able to start doing so on my iMac. Those with OS X Lion who are not making the Mountain Lion upgrade should be able use the Lion Internet Recovery process if there are any issues or use Lion Recovery Disk Assistant to make a backup on an external drive. We also recommend making a bootable backup of your computer whether you're sticking with Lion or upgrading to Mountain Lion. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Apple unveils Safari 6: goes well with your new Mountain Lion (update: Windows version absent)
Apple's web browser has joined its latest OS, and joins the dots on a raft of new features that we've been promised for a while. These include iCloud tabs and a new tab view -- both Mountain Lion only -- alongside a new smart search and unified search (with support for Chinese search giant Baidu) and address bar. If your older OS is missing out on those iCloud tabs, there's some other good news, Reading Lists will now work without being online -- which all sounds very in-flight friendly. There's also a Do Not Track option to cover your internet tracks, but for all the minute detail on some new developer additions, we'd advise hitting the source below. Update 1: We're not spotting a Windows release yet -- and nor can we see whether it will work on Snow Leopard. Let us know in the comments if you manage to grab the latest iteration. For anyone on Lion, the update will be available from the Mac App Store. Update 2: The latest version may not arrive on Windows -- with all references to the old version now gone from Apple's site. As 9to5Mac notes, nightly WebKit builds are still out there if you have a sudden pang for Safari. We've reached out to Apple to confirm.
Maniacally cuckoo for Mountain Lion: App Store checker shell script
In the spirit of Tim Cook's maniacal excitement about upcoming Apple products, I bring to you the shell script you can run repeatedly from the command line to check the App Store to see if Mountain Lion is ready for purchase. This is what I used last year to check for Lion; it worked. This year, I update the search string to "Mountain Lion" instead. As presented, it employs a 10-minute time-out, so you can run a repeat command with it. #! /bin/csh curl -silent -A "iMacAppStore/1.0.1 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10.6.7; en) AppleWebKit/533.20.25" 'http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMultiRoom?fcId=489264329&mt=12' | grep -i "mountain lion" > /dev/null if ($? == 0) then echo "Available" say "MOUNTAIN LION MAY BE AVAILABLE" else echo "Nada" endif sleep 600 Ready to improve the script? Have at it, campers! Update: Looks like the URL changed from last year. Updated via Mark (mcackay).
Mac versions of Sparrow and FX Studio discounted today to $4.99
Mac owners on the hunt for app deals may want to check out Sparrow for the Mac and MacPhun's FX Studio. Both apps have been discounted 50 percent today and are now available for US$4.99. Sparrow for Mac is the email client that kicked off the Sparrow craze a few years almost two years ago when the beta version made its public debut. It's been updated and improved since it first launched and is an excellent, lightweight app that'll meet almost all your emailing needs. FX Studio is for photo enthusiasts who like to quickly and easily add effects to their photos. The app includes 40 photo frames and over 170 effects and filters. It works with popular photo editors and organizers like Aperture and Photoshop. You can download Sparrow for Mac and FX Studio from the Mac App Store at their discounted prices today. Editors note: "A few years" was changed to "almost two years" to more accurately reflect the beta launch date of 10/2010.
Tweetbot for Mac arrives as free alpha, we give a quick hands-on
Seemingly anyone who's used an iPhone (and often the iPad) knows Tweetbot -- it's often the go-to Twitter app for those who prefer not to go the official route. It's to those users' delight, then, that Tapbots just posted a free alpha version of Tweetbot for Mac. As you'd anticipate, it's an attempt to bring much of the app's power user mojo to the desktop world: you can check just retweets of your content, mute overly chatty people or hashtags, and otherwise get more control than just watching your stream drift by. It's even (mostly) Retina-ready for that new MacBook Pro. Alpha does mean that there will be a fair amount of things missing; it won't tap into iCloud or Mountain Lion's Notification Center until it's official, for example. But if you're willing to deal with that and a few potential bugs, it may be time to brush other apps aside -- just note that you'll need Mountain Lion or newer when the app is ready to face the Mac App Store, even though it works with Lion today. We've had a quick spin with the app, and it largely does what it says on the tin: it's Tweetbot, on the Mac. The primary differences are changes that make sense when a mouse pointer and a larger screen area are available. You can reply, retweet, or view whole conversations from buttons that appear as you hover, rather than using the myriad taps and swipes of the iOS apps. It's a wonderfully minimalist app, if that's your thing, and you can open multiple windows (currently through a keyboard shortcut) to get some of that TweetDeck-style power user layout. Our main gripe? Tweetbot on the Mac always updates in a live stream, and there's no option for intervals; if you follow a lot of people, there's a chance you might miss something. Still, for an alpha, it's a decidedly polished and useful effort that doesn't leave us wanting like a few clients, including Twitter's own.
Hello Tutorials for Mac gets new users up and running in a jiffy
Every time there's an Apple earnings call, I'm always amazed to hear Tim Cook or Peter Oppenheimer spout figures on just how many Mac buyers are new to the platform. Whether those new Mac owners are moving over from Windows or are buying a computer for the first time, they may need a helping hand in getting up to speed. That's where the new Hello Tutorials for Mac (introductory price of US$2.99 in the Mac App Store) from It's About Time can come in handy. Hello Tutorials for Mac is a major update to developer Saied Ghaffari's "Learn the Switch to Mac" app. That app was much more expensive, and also came in a version that was bundled with Parallels Desktop. The new app is 998 MB in size and requires OS X Lion; when Mountain Lion ships later this month, purchasers are eligible for a free update to a new version focusing on the features of the updated OS. The old product had a "talking head" in a small window describing things, which was both unnecessary and somewhat distracting. Now the app uses a voice-over narration and screen video capture (in 1280 x 800 video) to demonstrate just about every feature of OS X. Upon launching Hello Tutorials for Mac, you're greeted with a screen that allows you to turn on "switcher mode" (if you've come from Windows), click anywhere on the screen to get a quick tutorial on how to use the app, or click on any icon or object on the screen to get more information. %Gallery-160082% For Windows users, the app provides comparisons between what users might be familiar with in Windows XP (the OS most users might be switching from) and similar features in Mac OS X. Hello Tutorials for Mac is unique among training apps in providing this capability. Lessons are divided into Beginner and Advanced tracks, with each lesson fully described in text prior to starting it up. Most of the lessons are less than six minutes in length, perfect for those who might feel intimated or overwhelmed by a longer session. There's nothing intimidating about Hello Tutorials for Mac. Saied narrates each lesson in a friendly, clear voice and everything is described in just enough detail to get the point across with flooding the new Mac user with too much information. If you'd like to make sure that the student doesn't get distracted by what's on the "real" Mac screen, Hello Tutorials for Mac can be placed in Lion's full-screen mode. If you're still fairly new to the Mac, you might want to pick up a copy of Hello Tutorials for Mac while it's priced at $2.99 -- you'd be surprised how many little tips and tricks you can learn. And if a friend or relative is getting their first Mac, I'd suggest that you do them a favor and install Hello Tutorials for Mac from the App Store right off the bat. Keep the app icon (which looks like an old time chalkboard with a Mac drawn on it) in the dock, show the new Mac user how to launch it, and you'll save yourself the frustration of having to answer a lot of questions.
Apple aware of corrupt apps issue, working on a fix (Update: Fixed!)
Earlier this morning, reports started circulating that the App Store was pushing corrupt binaries to iOS and Mac users, resulting in constant crashes of the affected apps. Marco Arment, of Instapaper fame, was one of the first to notice and very vocal -- bringing the issue to the attention of many in the media and at Apple. The list of affected apps is pretty staggering, including such high profile titles as Angry Birds Space, Yahoo! Search, Google Reader and, of course, Instapaper. The number of developers affected now tops 115, so we'd hold off on those updates. For the first several hours Apple was mum on the issue, but it has finally acknowledged the problem in the support forums and even reached out to developers via email. Suspicions seem to be that the FairPlay DRM is at the root, but until we have official word from Apple we'll refrain from laying the blame at its feet. Cupertino is working (we assume tirelessly) on a fix, which will hopefully be delivered sooner, rather than later. Update: Apple has confirmed to AllThingsD that the problem was due to a "server that generated DRM code" and has been fixed. Affected end users are advised to delete the corrupted apps and redownload them.
Sandboxing keeps TextExpander 4 out of the Mac App Store
Smile released TextExpander 4 today, with a whole slew of new features. But don't zip over to the Mac App Store to find it -- the company is one of the first and most notable to remove an app from the Mac App Store as it can't be sandboxed. Sandboxing is required for Mountain Lion apps that will be sold through the Mac App Store, and protects systems and users by limiting the resources apps can access. That doesn't mean that TextExpander 4 cannot be used on Mountain Lion Macs; in fact, Smile made a point in their PR blast this morning that the app is signed with a Developer ID from Apple to work with Gatekeeper in Mountain Lion. The list of new features is pretty lengthy: New fill-in types: multiple line text fields, pop-up menus, optional text sections Supports default values for text and popup fill-ins Edit fill-ins and options with popup interface Expand snippets and switch apps while using fill-ins Improved statistics with graphical display (and the ability to tweet your stats) Hands-on tutorial for new users Contextual menus for snippet editor and list Updated appearance for Lion and Mountain Lion French and German autocorrect groups So if TextExpander 4 isn't in the Mac App Store anymore, how do you purchase it? Easy -- just go to the Smile website and download a fully-functioning demo, and you can purchase a license from within the app. The app sells for US$34.95, a family pack is $44.95, and an office pack (covers five users in an office) is $99.95. Upgrades are free for users who purchased TextExpander after January 15, 2012, and $15 for those who purchased the app before that date. The upgrade can be purchased from the app as well.
