If you use Twitter like I do, you know of the wealth of options you have to interface with others. From instant messaging to custom built clients, you can find just about anything on the Twitter wiki. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Twitter enthusiasts tend to agree on the better client for Mac OS: Twitterrific, while the Microsoft Windows crowd is still looking for a front runner. I’ve used a majority of the clients for Mac OS and I find myself reverting back to either instant messaging or SMS. Recently, I (re)tried a Twitter client called, Snitter.

Snitter stands for “Snook’s Twitter” and it is an Adobe AIR application. Adobe AIR is a cross platform (Mac OS and Windows atm) framework which uses a combination of popular technologies to produce rich applications. Snitter is actually an excellent client. It has great error handling, great features, and extensive customization. I really really like it. There’s just one problem: Adobe AIR. Adobe AIR, like Java, sacrifices resources to give you cross platform capabilities. On Wednesday, I clocked Snitter at 238MB of memory consumption, while Flock was running at 210MB. No way a twitter client should consume more resources than my web browser. If it weren’t for this fact, I’d recommend Snitter hands down over the competition, but since the framework is piggy, I can’t. If you’re willing to sacrifice a good chunk of memory for an excellent Twitter client, give Snitter a try. Otherwise, I’d recommend sticking with instant messaging.

Snitter 0.20

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Google Mail, which includes Gmail and Google Mail for your Domain, now includes free IMAP usage. What is IMAP? IMAP, or Internet Message Access Protocol, is the alternate mail protocol to POP (Post Office Protocol). It allows you to manage email on the server. I used to teach this stuff. Essentially, you’re eliminating the need to synchronize your mailbox across multiple computers since you’re managing email on the server. You mark an email as read? You do it once. You want to create a folder to manage your family email? It’s done on the server. Most notably, IMAP supports push email in a sense. You don’t have to check for email every 5 minutes (in a sense). It’s pretty much done for you in the background and seems instantaneous. There are many more advantages of IMAP, but these are some that stick out in my mind.

Now back to Google. So far, Google mail has had few flaws save an interface overhaul for which Yahoo currently has the upper hand. Adding IMAP to the picture has made Gmail and more importantly, Google Apps for your Domain, an absolutely must have. Here’s why:

• Free email with unrestricted POP and IMAP access
• 4.3GB email storage
• Email, Chat, Calendar, and Google Office (Docs, Presentation, Spreadsheet) for your domain for free
• iPhone / Blackberry / Windows Mobile / Symbian users now have semi-push email, for free

It boggles the mind how attractive this is. If you’re a startup business, and you’re looking for a corporate email solution, you have to consider Google Apps for your Domain now. You have no choice. If you’re a regular end user, and you’re not sold on Google mail yet, I think you have a huge compelling reason to switch. There’s almost no downside.

Official announcement

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