Sanders Media

Today, I wanted to go over some of the various Twitter clients. Whether you use Windows, Mac or Linux, there is one for you.

1. Nambu: This is my personal favorite. However, it is Mac only. It sports a very clean interface, and almost has the look of Apple’s Mail application. It’s very easy to use, and it’s free.
2. TweetDeck: A few of my Windows friends like this one a lot. It is available in Windows, Mac OS X and Linux versions. It sports some handy features including spam protection and Facebook updates. It’s also free.
3. Twitterrific: This client has two versions: free and paid. The free version is fully functional, but is ad supported. It is Mac only. The iPhone version is one of the App Store’s top Twitter related downloads.
4. Twhirl: This is another popular Twitter client. It is available for Mac OS X and Windows. It has some great features including English spell check and image posting.
5. TwitterFox: This is more of a plugin than a client, but it bears mentioning. It is platform agnostic because it is a plugin for the Firefox web browser. It displays a small icon near your status bar that tells you when there are new tweets to your account.

If you’re a Mac user, I would definitely give Nambu a try. Windows and Linux users should look into TweetDeck. Because of TweetDeck’s Facebook inclusion, I may eventually switch over. Since many of us are on multiple social networking services, this becomes increasingly useful.

In this tenuous economy, PR and marketing take on even greater importance. For me, the computer industry is interesting to watch. Most PC makers have slashed the cost of owning a new computer. There is one exception; Apple.

They have always tended to shy away from pricing wars, instead banking on the quality of their product. This has given way for the other PC companies to cry foul at the expense of owning a Mac. Steve Ballmer, CEO at Microsoft, is one of Apple’s chief critics. Here are some of his recent comments:

“Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment—same piece of hardware—paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that’s a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.”

I find several flaws with the Mac-Is-More-Expensive argument. I’ll highlight two. First, look at the total cost of ownership. Macs break down far less. Also, since the hardware stays relevant longer, people spend less on upgrades. Second, Macs are generally more secure. Now I won’t say they are impervious. Far from it, in fact. However, most spyware, malware and viruses are built for Windows. You can read a more complete debunking of this myth here.

I am not here to convert anyone to a Mac. Your choice in computers is a personal one. I just have a problem with misinformation. If people have the truth, they are better able to make wise choices. When buying a computer, that can be a PC or a Mac.