Review: Ostrich for Safari

Apple's recent update to Safari brought us a number of enhancements to their browser; among one of the most notable additions has been extensions. Folks using Firefox or Chrome are already familiar with extensions and how they add functionality to your browsing experience. Ostrich is a Twitter extension for Safari that allows a user to keep up with their Twitter account without logging in on a tab/window or using a separate app like Tweet Deck or Twitterific.

So how does it fair? Here's what makes it work for me; if I'm browsing the web I tend to want to focus on the task at hand (i.e. I should be finishing this post) instead of obsessively checking to see if there are any updates - jumping between tabs or apps. Sometimes firing up Tweet Deck is a bit over kill; I don't plan on staying on my computer long enough to justify starting an app solely for Twitter when I should be checking my e-mail. Ostrich gives me the flexibility and a discrete enough footprint to do what I have to and indulge on my Twitter habit.

When a new tweet comes through you get a visual notification on your toolbar. Simple. Non-intrusive.

Clicking on the Ostrich button will bring down a drop down "window" displaying your timeline, mentions, and favorites. No fancy animations or graphical frills here - just a utilitarian interface that puts the info you're looking for in front of you.

Ostrich isn't for everyone though, if you're looking for a hardcore twitter extension that includes access to your lists, trending topics, followers, statistics then you should really consider using HootSuite. Again, Ostrich's strengths lie in its simple approach - have your timeline available to you even when you're not technically logged into Twitter.

Another feature that I'd like to see in future versions of Ostrich would be hyperlink shortening. I mean an extension that allows you to browse freely should incorporate the ability to (over?)share with everyone that follows you on Twitter. ("Hey guys I feel for a sandwich. http://bit.ly/9Zz3N3")

Overall, it's a solid extension that's worth giving a try. Ostrich may not have it all but it's a damn good start.

UPDATE: Check the gallery for some more screen shots.

Ostrich for Safari 5

Destroying Twitter... in a good way.

I will admit that I am new to this tweeting thing. I was never one for social networking. My Facebook page sits there collecting dust. The most I would do on it is update my status, simply just for the heck of it. With that in mind I decided to try Twitter since it is for the most part just the “status” aspect of social networking. Though I had been thinking of going Twitter for some time, what really brought me to tweeting was a good looking Twitter application: DestroyTwitter. More specifically this is DestroyTwitter 1.7.2Beta.

What first caught my eye is how simple and great DestroyTwitter looks. It reminds me of my current Adium setup, simple gray window with white text. The home screen shows tweets of the people you are following as well as your own tweets. Other menus such as Replies or Preferences open in the same window, so there aren’t a bunch of windows cluttering your desktop. Clicking “Home” sends you back to the Home screen, and it all works like its supposed to. Which reminds me. I found DestroyTwitter to be very newbie friendly. I am never sure how to add links to my status, whether it be Twitter or Facebook or some other form of status, they seem to handle things slightly differently. With DestroyTwitter you just copy and paste the link in a little field under the body of your message and it auto-magically adds it and shortens it to better fit your tweet-character limit. Since I linked my Tweets to my Facebook status (through the Twitter application on Facebook) I can just tweet and my status is up to date, without having to touch Facebook. Going back to the links, the shortened links created in DestroyTwitter make things look neater on the Facebook end as well, though not everyone may know what “http://tr.bibimbap” would be all about.

Another cool bit that reminds me of Adium, and is probably my favorite feature, is that you can customize the theme of your DestroyTwitter window. This can be done through the Theme Builder at the DestroyTwitter website (requires login using your Twitter account) or through the Themes page, where there are themes created by DestroyTwitter users. I played a bit with the Theme Builder and it is quite fun to create new color combinations and there are many great themes to choose from on the themes page. However I haven’t actually changed my theme because the default is just so flippin’ good looking. Kudos to the developer for making the application sexy out of the box.

There are a few cons, in my opinion, but these aren’t deal breakers. For one, I don’t know if I need a dedicated Twitter application on my Mac. I don’t think I tweet that much, so part of me wants to just use Twitter through Flock instead. But DestroyTwitter makes some actions as described above extremely convenient and newbie friendly. Also it requires Adobe AIR to be installed (but installation for both AIR and DestroyTwitter is quite painless). Sadly that means more of Adobe’s apps and plugins that you may only use sparingly taking up space in your hard drive. Also the Theme Builder on the site requires the latest version of Adobe Flash. Knowing Adobe the version you have now isn’t new enough. Update. Now. Most people have already installed these plugins at one point or another, so I don’t think it is that big of a deal. In exchange you get a solidly built, easy to use and great looking Twitter client.

There's tons more to look at, and playing with it for a week I've only begun to scratch the surface. I'm sure there are more snazzy features that I may have not mentioned. If you need a stand-alone Twitter client I can absolutely recommend DestroyTwitter.

Pick it up at: DestroyTwitter.com. The developer also has an interesting blog worth checking out.