Twitter Desktop Clients: My Current Pick and a Few Others

I've mentioned before that I use Digsby for my IM, email, and some social networking updates. One of those was Twitter. But when Digsby recently updated Twitter functionality, the relatively low RAM on my laptop couldn't keep up and slowed Digsby's Twitter response time to a snail's pace. It was then that I had to consider turning to one of several Twitter desktop clients I'd heard of. There are quite a few of them out there; some are very popular, some are almost well-guarded secrets. And most of them are available for the common Windows, Mac, and Linux Operating Systems.

After some consideration and my common practice of reading reviews, watching how-to videos on YouTube, etc...I chose Twhirl. This Twitter desktop client is run by the folks at Seesmic, who gave us Seesmic Desktop. It installs quickly and cleanly, even if it finds that you don't already have Adobe Air installed on your computer (a required installation) and has to include this. Twhirl is a great proprietary Twitter desktop client; it's easy on the RAM, has an intuitive user interface, and lets you run more than one Twitter account if you so desire. Twhirl does let you tweak your settings for updates, languages, and appearance so you can customize it to your liking. If you want to check it out, here's the Twhirl main page.

For a desktop client that does more than just Twitter, consider TweetDeck. I have not actually used this one yet, just because all my other updates come to me via Digsby, but I've watched several demos of TweetDeck, and I'm very tempted to give it a try. TweetDeck will run Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace updates, conversations, and other interactive functions in a multi-column user interface. Like Twhirl, it needs you to have Adobe Air installed, but the information I've gathered shows that installation is snappy. The main attraction of TweetDeck is those columns and the latitude it gives you to customize them. Of course, the settings and appearance are not left out of the personalization loop either. TweetDeck is still in Beta, but all reports are that it's running more like a final release. If you haven't already, I suggest you head over to TweetDeck for an eyeful.

If you want to check out a few other Twitter desktop clients, all of which will require Adobe Air as a platform, here you go...knock yourself out:
Seesmic (desktop, web browser, or iPhone)
Spaz (for mobile or desktop)
DestroyTwitter (still in Beta)

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Google Chrome 3: New and Improved (Really)

Google's Chrome web Browser has now been available for just over a year, and people all over have been discovering its power and simplicity. If you've been waiting for it to mature a bit, or if you haven't given it any thought...now is the time to act.

Today Google has made Chrome version 3 available to the masses. This, of course, doesn't count the Chrome 3 betas that have already been available to software/internet geeks.

Since the update was waiting for me when I opened Chrome this morning, I gave it a spin to test out the new features they've added. I'm very pleased with the speed of navigation and page rendering/loading. Please keep in mind that I'm not a top-notch geek, so the following is by no means a comprehensive list of the new feature set.

Improved Performance

One of the things that most impresses me is that Chrome 3 uses HTML 5 as a standard. To me and the rest of you average end users out there, this means you're going to see all that embedded media without plugins like a Flash player, because the HTML 5 protocol automagically takes care of rendering dynamic content.

The Look

Many of us love shiny, pretty things. Chrome 3 has finally given us some of that visual swag. The default theme itself is wearing a new slick gradient skin and the navigation icons seem to pop a bit more. Now, however, you're not going to be "stuck" with the default theme if it starts to bore you. They've given us some very cool and colorful themes to tart up the browser a bit.

Fastest Yet

I definitely see an increase in speed, and so will you. Not just in navigation time, but in page-load terms as well. Even if you have multiple tabs open...doesn't matter. Chrome 3 is beating the pants off my Firefox right now.

As I said above, there are more improvements in Google Chrome version 3 than what I've mentioned. If you want to see the full story, head over to the Official Google Blog.

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AlternativeTo: Find Great Software Suggestions Without Loooooong Web Searches

Not everybody has the patience, time, or inclination to go on a wild Google chase in search of software and application alternatives. If that's you, you might want to take a look at AlternativeTo, a great website that offers some great alternative software/apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Online that you might not know about.

Once you're there, the site offers a couple of ways to do things. Tabs at the top of the page let you choose your operating system to narrow the possibilities. In the search box, you enter the application you want to find an alternative for, hit enter (there's no "search" button), and you'll get a list of possibilities. If you're feeling adventurous or looking for inspiration, you can check the "Most Views," "Most Likes," or "Recent" tabs for an idea of what's out there. There's even an "OMG Fail" tab full of items that don't have alternatives listed yet, ripe and waiting for someone to come along and make a suggestion. Of course, to do so, you'll have to create an account or sign in via Open ID or Facebook Connect.
Fair warning: AlternativeTo is in BETA and it hasn't had time to be exceptionally comprehensive in its suggestions (which is another reason for visitors to contribute their suggestions if they have any).

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