Tweetbot for Mac is finally here… but it costs $20 and is in limited supply thanks to Twitter’s API restrictions

Tweetbot for Mac launched today, but Twitter's new API guidelines has left Tapbot with no choice but to sell a limited number of copies for $20.

Tweetbot’s Mac app finally launched in the Mac App Store today, but there’s a catch: Tweetbot for Mac will cost you $20, which is actually a reasonable price considering the circumstances.

The circumstances are these: Mark Jardine of Tweetbot developer Tapbots explains that Tweetbot for Mac will cost $20 “because of Twitter’s recent enforcement of token limits.” Tweetbot only has a limited number of user tokens it can implement and is therefore limited to hosting a small number of users — and because that potential pool of users will be restrained, the company has to charge a higher price. “These tokens dictate how many users Tweetbot for Mac can have,” Jardine says. While initially Tweetbot said it was working closely with Twitter as a result of the API restrictions, collaboration seems to have fallen to the wayside as alpha testing was squeezed out and later the Tapbots developers headed to App.net to try their luck there. 

Despite the bumpy road, the Mac client is finally  here, although there are some strings attached. One thing to note is that the number of Mac tokens available to Tweetbot are independent of the tokens available for Tweetbot for iOS users, which should be a relief to all the Tweetbot iPhone users out there who want the app for their desktop too. Once the number of tokens available for Tweetbot on Mac are used up, however, Tapbots will discontinue further sales — so you may want to act fast. 

An estimated fewer than 100,000 individual user tokens will be made available to Tweetbot based on Twitter’s API guideline Version 1.1. Existing third-party Twitter apps will be offered an additional 200 percent of the app’s current user token, but since Tweetbot for Mac is launching today without an existing user base, this unfortunately won’t apply.

To expand the number of tokens available Twitter explains that it reviews requests on a case-by-case basis. Jardine is aware of this and at the end of his announcement points to Twitter’s support account saying, “feel free to let Twitter know how you feel about it.”

If you were an early participant in the alpha or beta trial of the Tweetbot Mac app but have no intention of purchasing an account, Tapbots is kindly asking these testers to “please do us a huge favor and Revoke access.” With limited tokens available on Tweetbot for Mac, it frees up more space immediately for buyers.

With new stipulations attached to distributing this (and once-free) software, we have to wonder what may  happen to buyers that stop using Tweetbot for Mac. We reached out to Tapbots to find out if the company would possibly consider buying back accounts from inactive users. We will update you with their response.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Squeezed out by Twitter, Tweetbot makers introduce the App.net-friendly version, Netbot

After Twitter's API restrictions hurt its alpha testing, Tweetbot makers went the developer-friendly route with Netbot, the App.net iPhone and iPad apps.

Fan-favorite iOS Twitter client Tweetbot recently announced it would be shutting down its alpha testing as a result of Twitter’s recent API restrictions. Initially, Tweetbot developer Tapbots reassured us all that the application would be just fine, and the team was working closely with Twitter on the project. Unfortunately that was not the case, as user tokens became limited and so did Tweetbot’s ability to functionally test its app.

So while Tweetbot for Mac waits in the proverbial wings, Tapbots decided to take action where it could – over at App.net. The anti-Twitter, microblogging platform has been developer-friendly from the get-go, launching in reaction to tide of API restrictions Twitter began whispering about early last summer. App.net recently announced it would be incentivizing — allowing developers to build for its platform by offering them a crack at a $20k pool.

App.net also recently dropped its user fees from $50 a year to $36 a year, or $5 a month. The quick assumption there is that the platform is trolling for new users as its initial hype begins to fade, but App.net is spinning this as good news, saying it’s nearing 20,000 users, easily surpassing its 10,000 paying members goal.

Of course, it’s still no Twitter – which, this summer, was estimated to have more than 300 million registered users. But given the platform’s distancing from developers, it’s only natural that app builders are starting to look elsewhere, Tapbots included.

Which is what brings us Netbot. “If you love Tweetbot and are on App.net, you’ll want Netbot,” co-founder Paul Haddad wrote in a blog post introducing the new client. “We’ve been working very closely with App.net. Their goals of always putting users first resonates with what we believe at Tapbots. Even though App.net is currently a small network, we expect big things from them and are proud to be a part of the community.”

Haddad says App.net is also working on bringing expected features like push notifications and private messaging to the platform, and once available, they will be integrated into Netbot as well.

Netbot for iPhone and iPad is available today (both cost $4.99 — Tweetbot for iPhone is $2.99, for the record), and the app is incredibly reminiscent of what we all fell in love with in Tweetbot for iPhone (the long-awaited iPad version was in the works when the Twitter hammer fell). App.net iOS users will absolutely want to turn to this client for their mobile use. Getting Tapbots – a very respected and creative team – on board with the platform speaks well of where mobile development for App.net is going and the kind of talent it’s attracting. But it’s important to remember that App.net is not a Twitter-as-we-know-it-now killer – it’s just trying to resurrect what Twitter was and could have been. 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com