Webware

TweetDeck's new column navigator.

(Credit: TweetDeck)

The latest version of TweetDeck is out, and although it's a minor update it also introduces some useful changes worth noting. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux on Adobe AIR, the biggest change in TweetDeck 0.33 is an alteration to the program's guts that gives it more Twitter API breathing room.

TweetDeck now uses OAuth for calling Twitter's API. The API calls are how TweetDeck gets your tweet information from Twitter's servers, so this means that users can have TweetDeck update all their columns more regularly. In the previous version of TweetDeck, the API limit had been below 200 per hour. Now, it's shot up to 350 calls per hour.

There's also a new column navigator that lives at the bottom of the window. The navigator is made up of several bars, each one analogous to a column in your main window. Clicking a bar will jump you to the top of that particular column. For users with more columns than can fit onscreen, this should make jumping around much easier. Mouse over one of the columns and you'll see the column name, the service icon, the account attached if relevant, how long until the next update, and the current API usage. This can be good to know in case you're worried that one column is consuming too many calls.

TweetDeck 0.33 adds more media previews, including YouTube, Flickr, TwitGoo, MobyPicture, and Posterous, and also allows users to edit search columns without having to delete and then re-create them. The Help window has been revamped completely, as well. The full list of bug fixes and improvements can be read here.

Google is getting ready to add social-networking features into Gmail as it attempts to jump-start its social Web strategy.

Gmail users can already set their status within the service, but Google plans to expand that into a stream of status updates found in services like Facebook and Twitter, according to sources familiar with the company's plans. Users will also be able to share photos and videos through the service, which is expected to launch shortly.

Google has doubled down on its social Web strategy in recent months, with new hires and plans to devote more energy to understanding the social-media phenomenon. The company has tried to get momentum behind its ideas for several years, but hasn't gained much traction to date.

Separately, Google is building Google Wave as a similar stream of updates designed to improve collaboration. That service, which is unrelated to the Gmail status updates Google is preparing, is expected to become completely open sometime this year.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Google's plans for status updates inside of Gmail.

One key factor surrounding Google's plan will be the degree to which the service works with other popular social-networking services, namely Twitter and Facebook. Users who are already accustomed to sending updates across those services won't switch to the Gmail interface unless they can get all their messages in a central spot.

Yahoo offers something similar inside Yahoo Mail, letting users see updates to services like Twitter and Flickr from their contacts within the Yahoo Mail home page.

(Credit: Seesmic)

We've always liked the free Seesmic Twitter app for the desktop (Windows | Mac), but one of our biggest complaints when Seesmic crossed over to the mobile world has been the Twitter client's lack of support for multiple accounts. This is no longer an issue, a Thursday night update to Seesmic for Android now makes it possible to manage more than one Twitter persona.

We tried out Seesmic's latest version, 1.2, on Google's Nexus One. Logging into one account was easy, but adding a second (or third, or hundredth) account takes an extra step of pulling up the Options menu (the soft key to the right of the back arrow on the Nexus One; a hard Menu key on various other handsets) and clicking "Add account." You can make any account your default, and can skip between accounts from the Options menu.

The logic of multiple accounts also rears up when you post an update. You'll post to the account from which you're composing by default, but tap a button to cross-post your update to any other account.

Seesmic has thrown in a handful of other changes as well. Our favorite is Seesmic's status composer auto-correcting and auto-capitalizing sentences. The app also picks up in the time line where you left off and fixes several bugs. So far, the updated Seesmic looks and acts slick on the Nexus One, though an option button on the interface could make switching between active accounts even smoother than going through the menu.

Multi-protocol chat client Trillian follows up its resurgence last year with a long-rumored Mac version. Trillian for Mac is an unstable alpha, lacking many of the features that make Trillian Astra appealing on Windows, but even so it offers users a good idea of what's to come from Cerulean Studios.

The first public alpha of Trillian for Mac is sparse but functional.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

This build isn't really ready yet to compete with the popular Adium, but cross-platform users will appreciate that the contact sync works. Enter in your Trillian username and password and all of your other instant messaging accounts will be imported, including passwords. Basic IM functions are fine, with support for Trillian's proprietary protocol Astra, as well as Windows Live, Yahoo, Facebook Chat, AIM, ICQ, XMPP, Google Talk, Bonjour, and MySpaceIM. File transfers work, as do most Mac hot keys, iTunes tracking, thought bubbles above avatars during chats, and drag-and-drop.

There's much that's missing, though, so don't expect to jump to Trillian right now. Social network feeds don't work yet, nor do group conversations or e-mail support. Growl support is also missing, and while you can see your friends' avatars, personal avatars aren't working yet. The Preferences window is skeletal, too. The full list of what should work and what doesn't is here.

Cerulean Studios also offers an iPhone version, and Trillian for Mac will sync contacts and other changes with its iPhone sibling. Tell us your thoughts on Trillian for Mac in the comments below.

(Credit: NFL.com)

Forget Ashton and Oprah. This is how you know Twitter's really broken into the mainstream: The NFL has launched a page of aggregated tweets pertaining to Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV, and even designated an official hash tag (#SB44) for users to categorize their tweets as Super Bowl-related.

NFL.com's "Tag The Super Bowl" page aggregates both Twitter posts and Flickr photos that are accompanied by the hash tag, though it notes that photos taken inside stadiums must comply with photography regulations printed on the back of the ticket, which prohibit distributing "game action" photos. One can only assume that tweets are rather filtered, given the propensity for passionate sports fans to speak ill of the opposing team in colorful terms.

The NFL actually has a complicated history with Twitter. The league has banned players from tweeting during a game--much to the dismay of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, whose Twitter account has over 700,000 followers. Some individual teams have cracked down further on players' usage of the service.

As for fans, though, the NFL is encouraging them to tweet all they want--and there will likely be even more media frenzy, considering this will be the first-ever Super Bowl for the New Orleans Saints.

Apple may have focused all its laser-beam attention on the iPad at Wednesday's press event, but that wasn't the computing giant's only announcement. Effective immediately, Apple has given up blocking voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls over 3G data networks on the iPhone, and has changed the SDK to reflect the allowance. Of course, your carrier has to also comply for VoIP calls to work over 3G in addition to Wi-Fi. Luckily for us, AT&T in the U.S. is already on board.

We tested Fring's one-way video calls over 3G.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

The iCall app was one of the first to announce the 3G compatibility news to its VoIP users. Fring, a voice and chat app that supports Skype, SIP, and video calls, soon followed. We wanted to see just how reliable Fring's VoIP video calling was in the absence of Wi-Fi, so we turned off the wireless and made a few calls.

Fring dials out from a dial pad using cellular, SIP, or Skype, and can also make video calls with a compatible service. We tested Skype video calls within California and from the CNET offices, first with 3G and then with Wi-Fi. We also tested with and without headphones.

Video calls were one-way--we could see our callers through their Webcams, but they couldn't see us. Despite having full bars of AT&T reception, our callers clearly heard only one out of every 5 or 6 words with the headphones plugged in, but we could hear them. We sounded clearer with the headphones out, but couldn't hear as well on our end. Wi-Fi made the voice transaction clearer all around and caused fewer crashes and stalls.

Stability was an issue over both Wi-Fi and 3G. We had to restart Fring multiple times throughout the course of a call. Of course, the Skype service itself isn't without delays and freezes when you use it on a home computer supported by fast, reliable Internet, and we haven't had a chance to extensively test all Fring scenarios with Wi-Fi and 3G. Your experience may differ based on your own surroundings and the technology level on the other end of the line. One thing that's clear is that Fring's service indeed makes calls over 3G--albeit inconsistently, in our experience--in addition to calls over Wi-Fi. Improving stability and performance are the next steps for Fring, Skype, and other VoIP players taking advantage of iPhone's newly relaxed regulations.

Twitter has added a new feature that can make the service more relevant. In the right-hand navigation bar, under "Trending," you can now select a geographic region to see what's hot on Twitter in one of a few cities.

What's hot in San Francisco, according to Twitter.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)

Only 15 U.S. cities and five non-U.S. countries are on the locality list, although it's very likely that Twitter will add more locations shortly.

Twitter last year rolled out a geolocation API, which lets posts from Twitter apps--but not the Twitter.com site--tag each Tweet with the location where it was made. Presumably,Twitter posts from the site itself inherit their users' static location from their profile page.

This new feature is a nice fillip on Twitter, but it could be better. If it automatically located you, so you always got what was happening around you instead of what you said your home city was, it might be a very valuable ad-hoc guide to wherever you're opening your laptop. That would require the browser return you location. HTML 5 has geolocation reporting, but support for HTML 5 is only beginning to roll out. Fortunately, some mobile Twitter apps, like TweetDeck, already allow you to see Tweets that are geo-tagged as near you. Also, Twitter would be wise to put this feature on the Twitter.com pre-sign-in home page, to make it more clear to new users what Twitter has to offer them.

Google's end run around Apple's App Store is complete: Google Voice is ready as a Web application.

iPhone owners can now get in on Google Voice with the release of a Web application.

(Credit: Google)

Owners of the iPhone and Palm's WebOS devices can now get in on the mobile Google Voice experience with the Web app, which will run in the browsers of iPhones with the 3.0 software installed and all Palm WebOS devices, said Vincent Paquet, senior product manager at Google. The application should be available for current users of Google Voice--which is still an invitation-only service--as of Tuesday at m.google.com/voice.

Google Voice allows incoming calls to ring mobile phones, office phones, or desk phones depending on how the user sets their Google Voice profile. It also treats voice mail like e-mail, transcribing voice messages into an in-box where they can be read and deleted.

Last year Google submitted a native version of Google Voice to Apple in hopes of getting the software onto the iPhone. As most will recall, Apple and Google then entered into a semantic war of words over whether Apple rejected the application (Google's version) or merely continues to study it (Apple's version). Either way, the FCC got involved and Google Voice remains in App Store limbo, Paquet said.

"We haven't had any updates regarding our native app for the iPhone, unfortunately," Paquet said. However, now that the Web app is ready iPhone users will be able to get essentially the same experience that the native app would have delivered, although the user interface will be slightly different because the application will be running in the browser. Paquet declined to comment on whether Google plans to continue the App Store approval process with the native version.

The Web application is another sign of Google's strong desire to encourage people to think of Web-based applications as a ready alternative to native applications. The company has spoken about its plans for Web development at length, and even plans to develop a lightweight operating system based on its Chrome browser as a sort of proof-of-concept for the Web development mindset.

My colleague Rafe Needleman did a test-drive of the new application, which you can read here.

Seesmic, which makes Twitter and Facebook apps for AIR, Windows, and mobile platforms, on Thursday is launching Seesmic Look, a new product designed for the Twitter watcher much more than the Twitter contributor or participant. The app lets you scan the feeds of popular Twitter celebrities, or show feeds for specific topics, like the NFL or Wall Street business. It can display tweets as they come in, or it can go into "playback" mode to let you catch up on what you missed.

Red Bull sponsors this sports page, part of a Seesmic-run category list.

(Credit: Seesmic)

Look is a pretty, touch-enabled app. Seesmic CEO Loic Le Meur says Look is optimized for a touch interface, "and therefore, tablets." Look is a Windows app now, but Seesmic will presumably port it to a Mac slate as soon as possible.

Le Meur believes that Look will help bring Twitter to a wider audience by making it easier to view Twitter streams. It's a smart move, considering that most Twitter users watch but don't tweet. Le Meur also thinks a Twitter-watching audience will be attractive to advertisers and sponsors.

A big part of the Look pitch is that you don't have to log in to Twitter to use it, reinforcing the point that it's designed for lurkers. It's a lean-back TV-watching experience for what most geeks think of as a highly participatory platform. But Look doesn't do a anything that Twitter.com does not do itself. It won't show you tweets that you wouldn't seen on a Twitter client like Seesmic or Tweetdeck. It's just a more approachable way to watch the Twitter world go by, without being reminded that you're not actually contributing.

Seesmic has its own categorized list of recommended accounts to follow in Look, and the company is also offering special channels to paid brand partners, like Red Bull. There's a search function, if you want to track a topic that's not in the category list.

If you do log in to Twitter on Look, you can also contribute to Twitter from it, even though it's clear that that app isn't designed for power users. If you're already a Twitter junkie, you'll be better-served by Seesmic Desktop or its competitors.

If you log in to your Twitter account, you can do things like post items and see your lists.

(Credit: Seesmic)