Tweetbot, the popular Twitter app for
iPhone and iPad, has finally made it to the Mac. And if you’ve used it on an
iOS device, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect. If you haven’t, you’re
in for a treat and that’s significant at a time when it’s increasingly clear
the official Twitter client for Mac is unlikely to get any further development.
Twitter’s plan seems to be for desktop users to stick to the web interface, and
the restrictions it’s imposed on developers of third party client software are
helping to push users in that direction. Tweetbot provides a credible
alternative.
Tweetbot,
the popular Twitter app for iPhone and iPad, has finally made it to the Mac.
Aside from being arguably the sleekest,
most attractive Twitter app around, Tweetbot has several nifty features that
set it apart from Twitter’s own free client and most of the rest of the
competition. It supports multiple accounts, naturally, and allows you to view
the timelines from those accounts alongside each other. Alternatively, you can
view, say, you rmentions in one column, and your time line in the next.
Crucially ,though, the default is a single column. It’s a very useful way of
keeping track of what’s going on in your Twitter world without cluttering up your
screen when you’re only interested in your timeline.
Tweetbot also supports Mountain Lion’s
Notification Center, so you can configure it to display banners or alerts when
specific events a mention from someone you follow or the receipt of a direct
message, say are triggered. It has its own audio alerts, too, which can be
configured or switched off entirely. There are a number of other customisation
options, such as the ability to decide whether to display Twitter names or real
names in your timeline, whether to use absolute or relative dates and how to
format quoted retweets. In addition, you can choose whether or not to pin your
timeline to the most recent tweet when you’re at the top. Once you scroll down,
the pinning stops, keeping your place.
One of the best features of Tweetbot on iOS
is that it can mute specific accounts you follow. If someone in your timeline
is, say, campaigning on a topical issue and is overdoing it a bit, you can
elect to mute them for a day, a week, a month or permanently. Not only has that
feature made the transition to the Mac, but the Mac client will sync with
Tweetbot on iPhone or iPad and mute anyone you’ve muted on that device. It will
also sync timeline position and direct Message read status, using iCloud if
you’re a subscriber, or Tweet Marker if not.
If
you use Instapaper, Readability or Pocket, you can send links to them from
Tweetbot with one click.
If you use Instapaper, Readability or
Pocket, you can send links to them from Tweetbot with one click. Oh, and
there’s support for multitouch gestures, too. Swipe to the left on a trackpad
or Magic Mouse and you’ll get the Detail version of a tweet. Swipe to the right
and the conversation is revealed.
Negatives? It crashed a couple of times
during our early tests, but has been fine since. Other than that, nothing.
Is Tweetbot worth $20.99? If you use it on
iOS, you’ll already know the answer, and should already be using it. If you
don’t, the answer is still yes. The additional features it offers over the free
Twitter client are well worth the money.
For anyone who uses Twitter on their Mac on
a daily basis, Tweetbot is a must buy.
For
anyone who uses Twitter on their Mac on a daily basis, Tweetbot is a must-buy.
