Twitter heightens account security with two-factor authentication, enable it now

By Christian Zibreg on May 22, 2013

Remember how Apple – after a major security hole let attackers reset your Apple ID password using only your email address and date of birth – has enabled two-step authentication for Apple ID accounts? You’d be forgiven for thinking that every popular web service out there has by now adopted heightened security features, but that’s not really the case.

Google, for example, last year enabled two-step process for Google Accounts, with Dropbox following suit a few months later. Today, micro-blogging platform Twitter joined the fray with its own version of two-step verification designed to keep the bad guys out of your account.

You should enable it immediately and iDB, as always, has you covered with a handy tutorial on that… Read More

 

Twitter for Mac now plays nice with OS X Notification Center

By Christian Zibreg on May 22, 2013

Twitter, the leading micro-blogging service turned media platform, has just updated its Mac client with a much-needed native support for OS X Mountain Lion’s Notification Center. The new Twitter version 2.2.1 also includes half a dozen fixes. The native OS X Notification Center support lets you not only receive notifications when someone mentions you or when you receive a direct message, but also for any new tweet surfacing in one’s stream… Read More

 

I’m Listening: Share your now playing track from anywhere

By Jeff Benjamin on May 6, 2013

Are you finding that iOS’ options are a bit limited when it comes sharing information about the music you’re currently listening to? If so, then I’m Listening might be the jailbreak tweak for you.

I’m Listening is a recently released tweak on Cydia, and it allows you to customize the various sharing activities available for your currently playing song. The tweak works with the stock Music app, and also plays nice with 3rd party music apps like Spotify. I’m Listening utilizes a variety of methods: gestures in the app switcher, gestures on the Lock screen, and Activator gestures, in order to share your now playing track. Take a look inside for our hands-on video detail… Read More

 

Trust Twitter and Google, not Apple, to protect you from government data demands

By Christian Zibreg on May 1, 2013

Well, this is certainly noteworthy. According to the third annual report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) titled “Who Has Your Back?”, gadget giant Apple along with carriers AT&T and Verizon, Google’s rival Yahoo and the forgotten social network MySpace all are very likely to give in to Uncle Sam’s data demands.

Specifically, Apple and Yahoo scored one out of six possible stars, with Verizon and Yahoo rather ingloriously earning zero stars each. These companies’ weak safeguard implementation does little to circumvent data demands and protect your private information from the government’s prying eyes.

Whereas Apple and Yahoo only fight for users’ privacy rights in Congress, companies like Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Dropbox go to great lengths to ensure privacy of your data, earning four out of six stars each… Read More

 

Twitter for iOS updated with better Vine support, location-based Trends

By Christian Zibreg on May 1, 2013

Twitter, the popular micro-blogging service which in March 2013 passed 200 million users, on Wednesday updated its mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms. Twitter version 5.6 for the iPhone and iPad now lets you see location-based Trends or browse Trends tailored to your interests. The application also features improved playback of Vine videos and contains a few other minor tweaks, included after the break… Read More

 

Twitter’s Vine gains front-facing camera support and @user mentions

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 30, 2013

Twitter’s Vine, an iOS app that lets you impulse-share short five-second clips, may be struggling to take off, but that’s not stopping the popular micro-blogging service from issuing regular updates that add more functionality. One of my main gripes with Vine is its inability to use a front-facing camera.

That omission right there kills some potentially interesting self-portrait videos. No more, as Twitter today issued Vine version 1.1 which adds support for your iPhone’s front-facing camera… Read More

 

Two years later, Twitter updates Mac app with Retina support, nicer design

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 25, 2013

Just as we’ve given up hope that Twitter will put any effort into improving its Mac app, the micro-blogging turned media platform on Thursday rather surprisingly issued an update to Twitter for Mac.

In its first major refresh in nearly two years, the application has brought out way overdue support for Retina graphics, along with several design changes and other under-the-hood tweaks.

Twitter for Mac versions 2.2 now comes with a brand new app icon and improves upon the overall iconography. The compose window has been redesigned and the application can now post photos to pic.twitter.com. Read on for other changes… Read More

 

TweetBot 2.8 released with Media Timeline and overhauled image viewer

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 23, 2013

TapBot’s TweetBot isn’t the most affordable Twitter client on iOS, but the download is definitely worth every cent, at least as far as I’m concerned.

And with Twitter killing off its TweetDeck software on iOS, Android and AIR platforms beginning May 7, the selection of free Twitter clients on the App Store is about to become a little less comprehensive.

If you were looking for an excuse to treat yourself to a copy of TweetBot – which costs three bucks for the iPhone/iPod touch and an additional $3 for the iPad edition – you’ll be wise to consider taking the plunge following today’s update, TweetBot 2.8. Check out the new features right after the break… Read More

 

Twitter shutting down TweetDeck for iOS, Android, AIR on May 7

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 23, 2013

We had a feeling TweetDeck could wind up on life support after the micro-blogging and media platform Twitter had acquired them back in May 2011 for the reported $50 million.

Despite promising not to change the once popular application – and in spite of overhauling the UI and adding new features – last month was a disappointment for TweetDeck’s loyal following as Twitter confirmed plans to phase out mobile apps.

The plan is to focus on the TweetDeck web app. And now, Twitter’s most recent follow-up post makes it clear the company will be pulling the plug on TweetDeck for iPhone, TweetDeck for Android and TweetDeck AIR on May 1… Read More

 

Twitterrific updated with notification badges, Favstar support and more

By Cody Lee on Apr 22, 2013

Following last month’s monstrous 5.2 release that brought about push notifications and other changes, Iconfactory has released another major update for its popular Twitter client, Twitterrific. Today’s update brings the app to version 5.2.1, and again adds several new features.

Perhaps the most significant part of the update is the addition of notification badges, which tells you your number of unread notifications for the app at a glance. It also brings support for Favstar and Twitter’s trending topics, and a number of other bug fixes and improvements… Read More

 

#Discover #new #artists #with Twitter #music [App Review]

By Lory Gil on Apr 18, 2013

Hashtags. Most people didn’t know what they were five years ago. Now, they are being used in the name of apps like they are part of our daily vernacular. How do you say the name of Twitter’s new music discovery app anyway? Is it called “Twitter music” or “Twitter ‘Hashtag’ music”? Because I am not saying “hashtag.” No way. No how.

Why, you may ask, am I talking about hashtags? Well, because the bird-branded social networking site recently launched a music discovery app called Twitter #music (note the hashtag) that allows users to follow other music fans to help discover what is hot and new.

Twitter #music is an app that aggregates new songs, albums, and artists that are trending on Twitter. You can listen to tracks, retweet your favorites and buy songs on iTunes. You’ll never be left behind in the music world now that you can stay on top of the most #popular #bands… Read More

 

Twitter #music app launches on iPhone, get downloading

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 18, 2013

The popular micro-blogging turned media platform, Twitter, announced Wednesday that its new Music app is now available for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch, free of charge. Twitter’s music service on the web, which has been available in limited beta to a few celebrities, will open for everyone later today. Billed as “a new way to discover music and emerging artists”, the native iOS app, which is conveniently named Twitter #music, basically wants to become your default social music discovery tool.

Currently, the software pulls songs from iTunes, Spotify and Rdio, but more sources are likely to be added in the future. Anyone can listen to iTunes previews in the app, but Rdio and Spotify subscribers can log in using their credentials to enjoy full tracks that are available in those respective catalogs… Read More

 

New Twitter Music app launching this weekend

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 12, 2013

Twitter Thursday announced on, well, Twitter that it snapped up We Are Hunted, a music startup which tracks what songs people share the most across social networks.

But that’s so yesterday. Just 24 hours later, Twitter on Friday announced its music service is crawling out of obscurity, having changed from “invite only” to “coming soon.” Not much is known about the service as of yet except for a tidbit here and there.

According to some well-informed people, the micro-blogging service will be launching an app for iOS devices as well, timed to the start of the Coachella music festival this weekend. Matter of fact, if you’re Ryan Seacrest, a filmstar, an influencer or some such celebrity, you could start using Twitter Music today… Read More

 

How to quickly share notes on Twitter and Facebook

By Jeff Benjamin on Apr 11, 2013

ShareNotes is a new jailbreak tweak that allows you to share notes on Twitter and Facebook using iOS’ built in share sheet. The sheet is accessible via a tap on the share button in the Notes app, and it features two new buttons for Facebook and Twitter sharing once this tweak is installed.

The stock sharing options for notes are quite limited; you can only share notes via Mail or Messages. This jailbreak tweak opens things up a bit. Take a look inside for screenshots and more info… Read More

 

Twitter’s Vine is now App Store’s new #1 free app

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 9, 2013

Here’s a reminder that Vine still exists: just six months after being acquired by Twitter and about two and a half months following its iOS debut, the Vine app is now the number one free software on the App Store. By comparison, Twitter’s own iOS client sits at No. 35.

Vine’s success is no small feat given that App Store charts are normally populated with a bevy of well-known games and entertainment titles which, by the way, command mobile app usage.

What’s more, Vine is a really quirky piece of work: for Christ’s sake, we’re talking an app which lets you share ultra-short six-second clips here. Yet, a bunch of other video sharing programs can only dream of rising on top of App Store charts. So, what’s the secret ingredient Vine has that similar programs lack? Read More

 

Flurry: one-third of app time spent on games

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 4, 2013

The average U.S. smartphone or tablet user spends two hours and 38 minutes on their device, the majority inside an app.

Just over half an hour is spent inside a mobile browser, while more than two hours each day is spent inside apps, such as Facebook.

According to the mobile analytics firm Flurry, games top the list of most-used apps, while Facebook is threatening to overtake Safari, Apple’s dominant web browser, Opera Software’s Opera Mini and other popular mobile web browsers as the most-popular way to access social and other content on the web… Read More

 

Twitter app updated with the ability to discover, install and launch apps from tweets

By Cody Lee on Apr 3, 2013

Twitter yesterday announced that it had added support for photo galleries and apps to its Card features. Galleries are now represented in the stream with multiple photo previews, and app developers can embed more details about their apps.

Today, Twitter updated its iOS apps to support the new Card features, claiming that users can now discover, install and launch apps from tweets. And they also beefed up the apps’ performance with faster launch times and general bug fixes… Read More

 

How to embed Vine clips in web pages

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 29, 2013

Twitter’s Vine is fine for random sharing of six-second videos and today they issued an interesting new update promising to make embedding own or someone else’s clips easy as a pie. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

The new version won’t let you just grab an embed code in-app. For reasons beyond our comprehension, the software sends you to a special web page where the embed code can be created.

It’s not the end of the world, but the solution is cumbersome and inelegant, though it works. To start injecting those beautiful Vines into your blog posts, web pages, email newsletters or pretty much into any other other type of HTML content, just follow our quick guide and you should be fine… Read More

 

Vine update lets you embed videos on web pages

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 29, 2013

Twitter’s Vine app has seen just one noteworthy refresh following its January 24 arrival, one giving it a 17+ age rating shortly after the Internet’s morality police cautioned about porn content surfacing in Vine’s Editor’s Pick, a flaw the app makers attributed to a “human error.”

Now, I love Vine and even though I’m not a regular user, I find myself occasionally recording and sharing a quick clip.

It always bugged me that tweeting out those links used to be my only choice to share Vines with the web at large – of course, in addition to Facebook and shares through the Vine service itself. But what about embedding a Vine on your blog? Well, I’m pleased to report that today’s update has made Vine a whole lot more useful for a bunch of people: the new version includes web embeds, letting you easily inject your own or other people’s videos into blog posts… Read More

 

Twitterrific iOS app finally gains push alerts, but…

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 27, 2013

…but you probably won’t be able to take advantage of them because native Push Notifications are still in beta so developer Iconofactory had to limit the much-needed feature to the first thousand users, as determined on a first-come, first-served basis.

The system is very similar to the reservation tickets in the Mailbox app. Luckily, I was able to reserve my spot on time so my copy of Twitterrific version 5.2 has native push alerts turned on.

Tucked away under the app’s settings, push alerts can be turned on and off individually for direct messages, replies, mentions, favorites, retweets and follows.

Another handy treat: each of these can be color-coded so you get a better idea of a particular notification’s importance after it appears on your screen, especially handy when these alerts start cropping up on your Lock screen… Read More

 
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