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Tapbots Unveils Tweetbot for Mac Alpha

Tapbots today released an early version of its Tweetbot Twitter app for the Mac.

July 11, 2012

Tapbots today released an early version of its Tweetbot Twitter app for the Mac.

Tweetbot for Mac is a public alpha release, so users will likely encounter a lot of bugs. In a blog post, Tapbots said the company opted to release an unfinished version in the hopes that it would motivate them to finish faster and so they could incorporate user feedback into the final version.

"Developing for the Mac is no easy task, especially a full-featured Twitter client," Tapbots wrote. "However, we've gotten to a point where while not complete, it is useable."

Tweetbot is one of the many apps that aim to serve up your Twitter feed in a manner that differs from rivals like Hootsuite, MyPad, or Twitter's own mobile app. It's available in the Apple App Store for $2.99 and works on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Tweetbot for Mac is currently available for free via the Tapbots website. Once it hits version 1.0, Tapbots will start charging for the app, but it has not yet determined the price.

A few features will be missing in the public alpha, like multiple windows. For now, users can hit shift-n to open a new window, but Tapbots promised something "much more elegant in the future."

The company also warned about "disturbing" graphics - but only disturbing in the sense that they will feature mis-aligned pixels and such. "Throwing things on the canvas is just part of our process," Tapbots said.

Tweetbot for Mac in its current form will also not support Apple's Notification Center or iCloud since that requires Apple's approval for inclusion in the Mac App Store.

Tapbots said that "for the most part," Tweetbot for Mac supports the , but many on the Tweetbot staff are still waiting for their Retina MacBooks, so "there are a few glitches here and there."

The alpha version of Tweetbot for Mac runs on Mac OS X 10.7, but the final version will only work on the upcoming 10.8 Mountain Lion.

Tapbots encouraged users to send bug reports and other feedback by hitting "Send Feedback" from the Help menu in Tweetbot for Mac.

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