Twitterrific for Mac is Back: First Impressions and Comparison With Tweetbot

Twitterrific for Mac is back.

After raising over $100,000 on Kickstarter earlier this year, The Iconfactory today has released an all-new, completely reimagined version of the desktop Twitter client on the Mac App Store [Direct Link] for $19.99.

The Iconfactory said its goal was to deliver a minimal Twitter client, like the original Twitterrific for Mac, but with a feature set that caters to how people use Twitter in 2017, as opposed to 2007.

Only eight months have passed since the crowdfunding campaign began, so some key features are still missing at launch, but The Iconfactory promises they will be added in subsequent updates to the app.

I was provided with an advanced preview of the brand new Twitterrific for Mac over the weekend to try out, and I’ve gathered some of my first impressions as a longtime Tweetbot for Mac user herein.

Design and Functionality

Twitterrific has a simple but fairly customizable design.

In the top navigation bar, there are six menus: Timeline, Replies, Direct Messages, Likes, Lists, and Searches.

Twitterrific supports multiple accounts at once. Accounts can be added in Preferences → Accounts, and there is a dropdown menu above the timeline for switching between them. Multiple timelines can be opened in separate windows, but unlike Tweetbot, the columns have less of a compact appearance.

By default, tweets in any timeline appear in reverse chronological order against a white background, with photos, videos, and quoted tweets from other users displayed in line. In the Preferences menu, users can easily switch between light and dark themes, the latter of which looks like Twitter’s newer Night Mode.

You can also adjust the size and type of font, while media thumbnails can be set to appear smaller or be hidden entirely.

The timeline supports streaming, meaning that new tweets are shown automatically. However, the app currently lacks Tweetbot’s pinned timeline functionality, so scrolling to the top to read new tweets is required for now. Double click the house icon in the top bar to automatically scroll up to the latest tweet.

Like Tweetbot, you can optionally sync your current reading position in the timeline with your other Apple devices using iCloud.

In comparison to Tweetbot, fewer tweets typically appear in an equally sized Twitterrific window due to taller quote tweets. Tweets are color coded: standard tweets are white, replies are orange, your own tweets are green, and direct messages are blue. Unread tweets are denoted with tiny purple circles. Chained tweets and so-called “tweet storms” are grouped together in threads.

Tweetbot on left, Twitterrific on right
Clicking on the compose button opens a small window to type a new tweet, but several features still need to be added, including video uploading, geolocation, and the ability to save drafts. There is, however, a smile face icon that brings up Apple’s system tool for inserting emoji and other special characters into tweets.



As for direct messages, there is currently no “Mark All as Read” option or the ability to attach photos and other media types. The latter feature is “high priority,” according to The Iconfactory.

When you click on a photo or video thumbnail, it opens in higher resolution in a built-in media browser. Unlike with Tweetbot, the preview windows don’t need to be manually closed by clicking the “X” button. Instead, they disappear once you click anywhere within the timeline or minimize the app.

Clicking on an account’s profile picture brings up a user profile containing the person’s bio, join date, previous tweets, and other details, with block and spam buttons as well. Twitterrific doesn’t currently display badges for verified accounts within the timeline, but they can be seen in user profiles where applicable.

The Iconfactory has acknowledged some intermittent reports of row height and font weight bugs, which it says will be fixed in future updates, but I never experienced these issues in my own testing.

Twitterrific has full support for system notifications, including Notification Center. Notifications can be configured in System Preferences.

Twitterrific also has full support for Apple’s VoiceOver. The blind and hard of hearing can navigate timelines, compose tweets, and even attach image descriptions quickly and easily using the accessibility feature.

Other features include the ability to quickly delete, edit, and re-compose a tweet in which you made a typo, muffle syncing with Twitterrific for iOS, saved searches, full-screen view, keyboard shortcuts, trending topics, and more.

Profile editing and the ability to add, edit, or delete lists will be added in future releases. Meanwhile, Twitter’s API doesn’t currently support Moments, polls, or 280-character tweets in third-party clients.

Final Words

The Iconfactory shared a truth: building software takes time. In the long run, the team would like to bring Twitterrific for Mac to feature-parity with the iOS app. First, it needed a solid foundation to build upon.

The @Twitterrific for Mac icon evolution. Congrats to the team on completing the Kickstarter! @Iconfactory @gedeon pic.twitter.com/vRBd1phQSj

— Eli Schiff (@eli_schiff) October 6, 2017

In the meantime, while it’s evident a lot of hard work has gone into Twitterrific for Mac, there are likely few compelling reasons for the vast majority of existing Tweetbot for Mac users to make the switch.

Even most Mac users without a third-party Twitter client should consider Tweetbot first, given it has many of the same features, if not more, for only $9.99, which is half the cost of Twitterrific for Mac.

Twitterrific’s team includes software engineers Sean Heber and Craig Hockenberry, and graphic designers Gedeon Maheux and Anthony Piraino.

Tags: Twitter, Mac apps, Twitterrific
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Nokia Refocuses on Digital Health Products in VR Market Rethink

Nokia on Tuesday announced that it is halting the development of its $45,000 Ozo virtual reality camera, citing “slower than expected development of the VR market” as the reason behind the company’s rethink.

The news comes at the expense of 310 jobs in the U.S., the U.K., and Finland – the home of Nokia – as the company optimizes its investments in virtual reality and targets faster growth in digital health products and services instead.

In digital media, the slower-than-expected development of the VR market means that Nokia Technologies plans to reduce investments and focus more on technology licensing opportunities. The unit aims to halt development of further versions of the OZO VR camera and hardware, while maintaining commitments to existing customers.

Nokia acquired French health tracking company Withings in 2016 for an estimated $192 million, signaling the company’s long-term investment in consumer digital health and the Internet of Things sector. Withings completed its rebrand to the Nokia label in June of this year and simultaneously launched two new connected health products under the Nokia brand.

Nokia announced the professional-grade Ozo camera back in 2015, when it had a $60,000 price tag. The 360-degree 3D camera is capable of live streaming, live monitoring and automatic stitching. Disney, UEFA, Sony Pictures and other media companies bought Ozo camera units, and Nokia later dropped the price to $45,000, but sales clearly didn’t warrant continued development.

Related Roundup: Apple VR ProjectTag: Nokia
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Fake Chrome Web Browser Extension Unwittingly Installed by 37,000 Users

A fraudulent browser extension was downloaded by 37,000 Chrome users after it sneaked past Google’s Web Store vetting processes, it emerged on Tuesday.

The fake extension was listed on the official Web Store until today and masqueraded as popular legitimate extension AdBlock Plus, which has over 10 million users. Once installed, the fake reportedly swamps infected computers with adverts and opens up tabs without the user’s permission.

The existence of the fake extension was revealed by anonymous cyber security personality @SwiftOnSecurity, but it’s still not entirely clear if the fake compromised the data of the 37,000-odd users who inadvertently installed it on their browsers.

Back in 2015, Google officially blocked Mac users from downloading Chrome extensions not hosted in its official Web Store, over concerns that malicious extensions were becoming rife.

Given this latest breach of Google’s vetting system, Chrome users are advised to carefully check the developer information of extensions before downloading them to ensure they are legitimate and not spoofing popular browser add-ons. We’ll update this article if Google provides clarity on what went wrong this time around.

Tag: Chrome
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Twitter finally gets around to developing a save-for-later feature

Why it matters to you

A bookmarking button is likely to be warmly welcomed by Twitter users who up to now have been getting by with a variety of workarounds to save tweets.

A feature that many on Twitter have long been asking for looks like it’s finally heading to the microblogging service.

We’re talking about a bookmarking button that lets you save tweets, whether you want to check them out later or simply store them because they resonated or made you laugh.

At the current time, you probably use one of a variety of methods to save a tweet, including DMing it to yourself or tapping the Like button. But these methods aren’t necessarily convenient — or private. Indeed, some on Twitter lament the fact that their Liked tweets — often with links to articles — can now show up in their followers’ timelines, “inadvertently giving big exposure to things I haven’t read yet,” as one user recently put it.

News of the upcoming feature came directly from Twitter product manager Jesar Shah, who revealed on Monday that an early version had been developed at a recent Hack Week. She even posted a video demonstration (below) showing how it might work, though Shah noted that the prototype was “likely” to change prior to release.

For Hack Week @Twitter we started developing #SaveForLater. Here’s the early prototype that we put together in a week, which is likely to change. pic.twitter.com/c5LekvVF3l

— jesar (@jesarshah) October 9, 2017

In its current form, the feature certainly seems straightforward enough. When you see a tweet you want to save, it’s simply a case of tapping the more-options button that appears to the right of the Like button, and then again on the add-to-bookmarks option. When you want to access your saved tweets, just tap on your profile picture and select bookmarks from the drop-down list.

With Twitter never having gotten around to building a save-for-later feature, many users turned to apps like Pocket that allow you to save links to articles in tweets for offline reading at a later time. But a quick and easy method for saving funny or fascinating content, with or without links, is likely to prove popular with Twitter users who’d prefer to save tweets in a private space, accessible in a couple of taps at any time.

Shah said she wants input from anyone on Twitter interested in helping to develop the feature. “We’ll be tweeting to ask for feedback, and share our thinking as we compare designs, experiment, do research, and more,” she said. But hopefully it won’t be too long before it lands on the service.

Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 2 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage lands in India for ₹35,999

Xiaomi finally launches a flagship phone in India, and it’s amazing.

Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Mix 2 last month in China, and the manufacturer has launched the phone in India, its second-largest market. The Mi Mix 2 will go up for sale later this month for ₹35,999 for the variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage, and will be available exclusively on Flipkart.

The main highlight with the Mi Mix 2 is the bezel-less design, with three sides of the phone sporting virtually no bezels. To achieve the effect, Xiaomi had to move the front camera to the bottom bezel. The phone has a 5.9-inch screen with a 2048 x 1080 FHD+ panel, and there’s also a notification LED tucked away in the bottom bar. Last year’s Mi Mix used a piezoelectric driver for calls, but the Mi Mix 2 offers a regular earpiece.

Other specs include the Snapdragon 835, 6GB of RAM, 128GB storage, 12MP camera (the same sensor as the Mi 6), 5MP front shooter, Wi-Fi ac, global LTE bands including the three requisite bands for India (3/5/40), and a 3400mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0. On the software front, the Mi Mix 2 is running the latest build of MIUI 9 atop Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

• READ: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 specs
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 review: Astounding, audacious, accessible

The launch of the Mi Mix 2 is a big deal for Xiaomi, considering the manufacturer didn’t launch the Mi 6 in India. Xiaomi instead turned its attention to the budget segment, where it fared exceedingly well over the last 12 months. The company has released two of the year’s best-selling phones — the Redmi Note 4 and the Redmi 4 — and has solidified its position as the second-largest handset maker in the country.

By bringing the Mi Mix 2 to India, Xiaomi is signaling its intent to expand into the mid-range segment. The Chinese manufacturer has been very cognizant of customer demands, pricing its devices very aggressively. That trend continues with the Mi Mix 2, which will retail for ₹35,999.

The phone will be available online from October 17, and will be up for purchase at Mi Home stores from next month. Who’s interested in buying one?

Mark Zuckerberg uses Facebook to visit Puerto Rico in VR

More than three years have passed since Facebook purchased virtual reality headset-maker Oculus VR for $2 billion. Now, with its fourth annual Oculus Connect event fast approaching, Mark Zuckerberg is demonstrating the unique ways he uses VR. While the rest of us goof around with friends, take selfies, and go live on the social network’s virtual reality experience (known as Facebook Spaces), the company’s CEO plugs in to coordinate his humanitarian endeavours. In the course of his latest virtual livestream, Zuckerberg met up with Facebook’s head of social VR Rachel Dwyer. They then set course for Puerto Rico to explain how the tech giant is utilizing machine learning as part of its relief efforts on the island.

To make the transition from California to the Caribbean, Zuck used a “transportation orb,” which sounds like something you’d find in a kids’ sci-fi flick of the Flight of the Navigator variety. It’s essentially just an interactive, 360-video backdrop that allows you to transition from one virtual environment to another.

As Zuckerberg explains in the stream, Facebook is doing its part to help hurricane victims on the island. Aside from monetary assistance, it’s also offering its AI-assisted maps to aid search and rescue teams on the ground. These come in three shapes and sizes. The first uses Facebook’s existing tech to create a location density map to indicate where people were stationed before and after a natural disaster. The second reveals movement data between cities and neighborhoods during set time periods. And, the third taps into the company’s Safety Check tool to show the areas where clusters of people are marking themselves as safe. Facebook is sharing the maps with the Red Cross in Puerto Rico, and in collaboration with tech nonprofit NetHope. Elsewhere, it’s using the same software as part of its global internet delivery plans.

Like a regular Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Zuck and Dwyer then zapped themselves to the Oculus Connect stage, and then the moon. The CEO should be back on earth in time for the main event on Wednesday, where he’ll announce plenty of new VR updates.

Source: Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)

Twitter is developing a ‘Save for Later’ bookmarking feature

While most tweets are a quick read, a lot of people still want a way to save those worthy of a more in-depth inspection. After getting tons of requests for a “Save for Later” feature, the company has finally started developing a Bookmarking tool during its annual Hack Week activities. Twitter product manager Jesar Shah has announced the feature on the platform and posted a quick demo of the prototype they created at the event.

Hi Twitter! Many of you (especially in Japan!) have said you’d like to be able to easily + privately save Tweets for later. Right now, people bookmark Tweets by liking, DM-ing to themselves, or Retweeting. But this could be easier. https://t.co/iQ9W9mB1uV

— jesar 💭 (@jesarshah) October 9, 2017

For Hack Week @Twitter we started developing #SaveForLater. Here’s the early prototype that we put together in a week, which is likely to change. pic.twitter.com/c5LekvVF3l

— jesar 💭 (@jesarshah) October 9, 2017

Apparently, they plan to replace the “send via DM” icon on the bottom right portion of tweets with an overflow menu. That menu will house both the “share via DM” and the upcoming “Add to Bookmark” features, though the final version could take on a different form. All the tweets added to Bookmarks can then be accessed through a list in settings.

Shah also revealed that users currently make do by Liking or sending tweets to themselves via DM. When the feature comes out, they no longer have to do either of those whenever they see tweets with photos containing a longer message, those that mark the beginning of a series or those that link to long pieces they’d like to access when they have more time on their hands.

Source: Keith Coleman (Twitter), Jesar Shah (Twitter)

Nokia halts development of its $45,000 VR camera

Nokia created the Ozo spherical camera to get into the virtual reality market without having to compete with head-mounted devices like the Oculus Rift. Alas, things didn’t go as well as the company wanted despite not having to compete with a plethora of VR goggles — it’s halting Ozo’s development and cutting up to 310 jobs in the process. Nokia said the “the slower-than-expected development of the VR market” forced it to optimize its investments in virtual reality, and the rig happened to be one of the casualties. It now plans to focus on its digital health projects, particularly the ones it acquired when it purchased Withings, and its profitable patent licensing business.

Nokia announced the Ozo camera back in 2015 with a $60,000 price tag. That pricing made it pretty clear that it’s a professional-level 360-degree 3D camera capable of live streaming, live monitoring and automatic stitching. Disney, UEFA, Sony Pictures and other big-name companies nabbed one to create VR content, and other companies followed suit after Nokia dropped the price to $45,000. Unfortunately, the camera’s sales might not have been enough to sustain its continued development, but Nokia promises to continue providing support to its current customers.

Source: Nokia

37,000 Chrome users downloaded a fake Adblock Plus extension

If you use Adblock Plus with Chrome and downloaded the extension pretty recently, you may want to check what you’ve installed. Apparently, a fake Adblock Plus extension made it through Google’s verification process and lived in the official Chrome Web Store alongside the real one. Google has taken down the phony listing after SwiftOnSecurity tweeted about it and put the company on blast, but by then, it has already been up long enough to fool 37,000 people. That’s a drop in the bucket for a service that has 10 million users, but it sounds like trouble for those who were unlucky enough to download it.

Google allows 37,000 Chrome users to be tricked with a fake extension by fraudulent developer who clones popular name and spams keywords. pic.twitter.com/ZtY5WpSgLt

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 9, 2017

Legitimate developers just have to sit back and watch as Google smears them with fake extensions that steal their good name pic.twitter.com/3Tnv4NtY9t

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 9, 2017

I’m being mean to Google because there’s no way their Chrome team is happy with this extension vetting/moderation situation.

— SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 9, 2017

SwiftOnSecurity says the fake extension was created by a “fraudulent developer who clones popular name and spams keywords.” Indeed, it’s pretty hard to tell that it’s fake, since its developer’s name is “Adblock Plus,” and it has a considerable number of reviews.

According to one of the fake Adblock’s reviewers, he started getting invasive ads that open lots of tabs after he installed it. Unfortunately, it’s unclear what else it can do or if it has even more detrimental effects that we still don’t know of. We asked Google if it has unearthed anything about the fraudulent extension, but even if we never hear back, it may be best to re-install Adblock Plus if you notice getting random ads after downloading it.

Via: The Verge

Source: SwiftOnSecurity

How to clean headlights: Freshen your car’s look and improve visibility

Headlights, like every other part of your car — or any machine or piece of tech, for that matter — will surely get dirty and begin to deteriorate over time without the proper upkeep. No matter how clear the polycarbonate plastic is when you purchase it, it will eventually begin to look foggy and obscure the brightness of your headlights. The fogginess results from a combination of general filth accumulation, and a natural chemical reaction the plastic has to long exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Tired of poor visibility and nasty-looking bulb housings? Let us teach you how to clean headlights. Your car — and other drivers — will thank you.

This buildup can make it more difficult to illuminate the road and your surroundings at night, which increases the risk of unfortunate incidents. Thankfully, there are a few simple strategies one can employ to restore clarity to your headlights, most of wthem from the comfort of your own home. Without further ado, let’s get into the prep, procedure, and products associated with cleaning your headlights.

Initial cleaning

You may want to get down and dirty with the headlight restoration, but giving your car a proper cleaning (or at least washing the front end of your car) before getting started will assure the best result. Wash the headlights themselves and all surrounding panels. Thoroughly dry the vehicle so no droplets or water runoff will get onto the headlights during your restoration.

Masking

Next up is taping/masking of the headlight perimeter. You’ll need some painter’s tape that isn’t crazy adhesive. Tape around the headlight, being careful not to put tape on any of the housing that needs to be polished. It will look weird if you have a line of foggy next to a line of clear on the headlamp. Typically, your turn signals (yellow lights) won’t haze as much as the clear headlight, so if you don’t want to go through the trouble of cleaning those, just tape them off. Any other surfaces that could be damaged while polishing/sanding should be protected.

Three ways to clean:

Toothpaste

The simplest (and cheapest) way to clean your headlight covers is by using basic toothpaste to clear and polish the plastic. Squirt a bit of toothpaste directly on a washcloth, then spread the toothpaste over the entire head light. Next, rinse with water and dry with a towel. That’s it! Since toothpaste is a light abrasive, it will scrape away the gunk while filling in any scratches. It will even lightly polish the plastic in the process. Keep in mind that you want to use toothpaste that does not have any sort of cooling beads, crystals, or similar components,  as these will potentially scratch your headlights. They’re bad for the environment, too. Just a heads-up.

Soap, sand paper, and polish

Using some soap and water, wash your headlights and remove as much buildup as possible. Afterward, dry them with a towel and use 400- or 800-grit sandpaper to remove the remaining gunk, sanding back and forth as you do. You’ll then want to sand it again with a finer sandpaper — this time from a different angle — and polish the plastic to restore clarity. You can use a commercial polish, such as 3M’s Lens Polish and Protector, or you can use toothpaste like in the method outlined above.

Commercial products

If you’d rather fork over some money for a commercial solution, there are plenty of products out there that will get the job done. Most are fairly inexpensive, too, and readily available through online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores in your area. These are a great option, though, in the end, they work about as well as the cheaper methods listed above.

Additional preventative tips

Now that you’ve gone to the trouble of restoring your headlights, it would be a real shame if they became foggy just weeks or months after your labor. To prevent a quick return to ugly form, try a UV sealant, protectant, or film. These products will shield your headlights from the same combo of UV punishment and built-up filth that made them hazy the first time.