Industry guru Dave Taylor answers free tech support questions about a wide variety of business and technical topics, including blogging, Google AdSense, MySpace, Sony PSP, Apple iPod, Mp3 players, management, Linux, SEO, Mac OS X, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Microsoft Windows.

Still befuddled? Get immediate live tech support with SupportSpace!

Twhirl or Twitterific, which one's better?

I'm a recent convert to Twitter (thanks partly to your own twittering, actually!) but can't decide between the two major apps on the Mac: Twhirl or Twitterific. Which do you use, and why?

Dave's Answer:

Ho, boy! That's a hot topic and it might be one of those situations where there is no correct answer and that it depends on your personal tastes whether you prefer Twhirl or Twitterific.

I have used both applications in the last few months and while I thought that the Twhirl interface was better, I thought that the requirement to install the Adobe AIR was a pain: I mean, with so many platform independent systems, we need yet another one to clutter up our system?

The other thing that I think Twitterific has going for it is that it works with Growl, a nifty little app that lets you channel application notifications into a coherent mini-window on the corner of your screen (yes, another underlying infrastructure, just like Adobe AIR. See what I mean?) Twhirl has a similar functionality, but it doesn't actually use Growl, so I can't configure its display as I can Twitterific.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a typical Growl notification from Twitterific:

Growl notification from Twitterific on Mac OS X for Twitter

On the other hand, the coolest thing about Twhirl is that if you move the cursor over a twitter user's icon, buttons magically appear that let you easily reply to them, etc, something that appears missing from the Twitterific application. Here's what I mean:

Convenient Action Buttons from Twhirl on Mac OS X for Twitter

It's not actually missing in Twitterific, though, just a bit more tricky to find. To find it, click on a specific Tweet (twitter message):

Shortcut Buttons in Twitterific on Mac OS X for Twitter

Now here's a further useful tip. Click again, on the tiny gear button and a menu pops up with lots of choices:

Twitterific Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac OS X for Twitter

You can see that to reply to someone in Twitterific you can simply click on their Tweet and press Cmd-2, for example, which instantly adds the proper "@username" in the input box. That's what I do: I went for months without realizing that there even was a pop-up menu associated with the gear button.

So which one's better? I really can't say. They both have their proponents, as demonstrated when I asked my Twitter followers which they prefer:

Which one is better, Twhirl or Twitterific? I asked the Twitterverse...

As for me? I occasionally run Twhirl just for a change, but ultimately go back to Twitterific because it hides better (no icon on the icon dock, just up on the menu bar) and because it uses Growl for notifications.

If you're just learning about Twitter, by the way, I have lots of Twitter help here, and if you want to find me on Twitter just click here: twitter.com/DaveTaylor.

Help others find this article at Del.icio.us, Digg, Netscape, Reddit, and Simpy.

Categorized: Mac OS X Help (Article 7976)
Tagged: adobe, adobe air, twhirl, twitter, twitterific
Previous: Review: Highly Portable Backup Solutions for on the Road
Next: Updated: How do I change my MySpace profile picture?

Subscribe!

Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader.

Comments

Thanks for the side by side Dave. Your post made me realize that I wasn't using the latest version of Twitterific, so, I'm diving in again eyes open.

Posted by: David at April 2, 2008 8:59 AM

So I decided to give Twitterific a look after all, after reading your article. And then I remembered why I haven't bothered trying it yet.

Twitterific costs $15. Twhirl, which works just fine for me so far, is free.

So I have no impetus to switch.

Maybe I'm just cheap. But even the nominal fee was a barrier for me when the competition is excellent and free.

- Amy Gahran

Posted by: Amy Gahran at April 2, 2008 10:08 AM

How weird, I posted a comment, but it never showed. That's OK, I have an update anyway.

I have installed Twitbin, thanks to you posting the screenshot showing suziecheel's recommendation.

FYI: Though it only notes Firefox on the download page, their FAQ indicated it works with Flock. And it does, for those interested in knowing.

However, you have to be in the browser to see the updates. And, I like the notifications I am used to with Spaz. So, I am thinking of trying your recommendation of Twhirl. I already have Air, due to Spaz's need for it - but I think it is actually an Air error, so we'll see.

Thanks for the useful post!

Posted by: Bethany at April 2, 2008 1:19 PM

Amy Gahran, Twitteriffic is indeed free if you don't mind an ad every now and then. It is less than annoying, really. I'm a twhirl convert... twhirl just seems to work better in my workflow.

Posted by: Michael Sitarzewski at April 2, 2008 11:01 PM

Nice comparison, I am a light twitter user - I used to use Twitterific but switched to Twhirl recently. Mostly because I hated the big ad that showed up on Twitterific (and I'm not a big enough Twitter user to really want to pay for a client). But I do like Twhirl better - it replying is easier and it's nice that it shows replies the way it does in the icon area.

Another thing that someone else noticed is that Twhirl uses 3-4% cpu constantly while Twitterific used like none. I'd guess that's an air issue.

Posted by: felix at April 3, 2008 5:05 AM

I'd heard of twitter, but never really given it a second thought until recently I noticed somebody say they posted notifications through the service. I signed up simply to follow them and at the same time came across twitteriffic (which immediately hooked me due to it's growl interaction).

what I like about it it just getting those short little messages while I work that let me know what others are doing.

People are calling it a gimmick, but heck, the idea is so simple it's brilliant. I'm sure I'll get addicted to posting next.

Posted by: Stuart at April 22, 2008 3:03 PM

Recently I spent a week trying the following clients: Snitter, Twhirl, Tweetr, Twitterific, spaz and TwitterLocal. I ended up choosing Twitterific and TwitterLocal however I don't "use" TwitterLocal as a client but it's neat to see what's being twittered in your area. It would be cool if twitter created a way to follow by location.

A quick overview...

Twhirl
pros
- tabs for replies and direct messages

cons
- weak/no keyboard shortcuts (they are awkward and don't start with cmd/ctrl so you can't use them while in the text input)
- Currently selected tweet is not highlighted. When scrolling through tweets you can't tell which one your at until the page gets bumped. annoying.
- Settings button is randomly up at the top while all other important buttons are at the bottom
- bloated and can be a bit slow

Twitterific
pros
- great keyboard shortcuts
- easily scroll through tweets and use keyboard shortcuts to repy, favorite and direct message
- growl notifications
- recently added ability to display icon in the dock vs menu bar

cons
- would be nice to have tabs for replies, direct messages
- tab for search would also be nice but I use IM for twitter tracking so it's not a big deal. If twitter added tracked tweets to your feed you wouldn't need to do anything special.

Posted by: simplynutty at May 1, 2008 9:43 AM

I have a lot to say, but ...

I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!