Mac owners were treated to a planned software update Thursday that brings the uber-successful App Store back to the desktop. On the original App Store, users download apps to use on their iOS devices–iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad; on the new Mac App Store, users download apps to use on the actual computer.
One of the coolest apps in the store, so far, is an old favorite: Twitter for Mac.
Twitter for Mac is somewhat reminiscent of Twitter for iPad, with the most emphasis rightfully being placed on displaying the stream. The free application can be configured to update tweets in real-time, which actually saves users a step versus Twitter on the Web, where one must click to refresh for more tweets.
Besides the tweet timeline, users also have access to mentions, messages and lists. User profiles are also accessible by clicking on avatars. Clicking the magnifying glass opens up the search function, naturally, but it also displays the top trends on Twitter.
My favorite part of the app is the menu bar button (the little Twitter logo in the upper right of the screenshot). By default, the little bird will change from black to blue when new tweets, mentions or messages are received. Clicking the button lets the user either go to the Twitter app or create a new tweet. The button can also be reconfigured (in the app’s preferences) to serve as a “show/hide app” feature.
Twitter for Mac was originally called Tweetie, an application developed by third-party Atebits. Twitter acquired Atebits last year and quickly rebranded Tweetie for iPhone as Twitter for iPhone. It took them a little bit longer to roll out the desktop version. The new version is three times faster than the original, according to Twitter.
All in all, an elegant and comprehensive app. This one will be open on my desktop quite a bit.
