Syrinx, Another Twitter Client
Indeed, Syrinx is another Twitter client and it got my attention through the simple fact that is isn’t an Adobe AIR application. The tradeoff is that it is only available for Mac. Windows users and others can stop reading now, because this article isn’t for you.
My problem with Adobe AIR application is twofold:
- Links open Safari which I don’t use. It beats the crap out of Internet Explorer any second, but it’s lack of extensions support and limited customization are a turn off in comparison to Firefox.
- AIR application aren’t light as air, they take so much memory to run. It’s despicable when one single Adobe AIR application takes as much memory as Firefox.
Now that my rant is out of the way, let’s get back to Syrinx. Its interface is very simple. It basically brings the Twitter website to the desktop. For each tweet, there are five icons: bookmark, direct message, profile, favorite and reply.
One of two features that stand out is the ability to pause meaning that you will not receive anything even when the application is still running. The other feature is the search box which is self explanatory.
Syrinx just released and still has a lot of room for improvements.
- The search should have the option to search all twitter and not just the tweets that are displayed.
- There is a minimum width for the window and it should be either removed or decreased. My vote goes to removing that limit.
- Instead of having replies and direct messages displayed at the bottom, there should be buttons to view them. It is completely irrelevant that have them present at all times.
- Customization only allows background colors to be changed. Users should be able to change text colors as well.
- In order for the five action icons to be displayed, users have to click. Simply hovering to get those options would be nice.
- Support for Growl notification is a must.
- Currently, Syrinx has to run in the dock. It would be less intrusive if it could run in the menu bar and/or both.
- My last point isn’t directly targeted towards the software, but towards the blog which forces users to register to be able to make comments. Nobody should have to register anywhere to leave a comment.
As much as I like Syrinx for not being an Adobe AIR application, if none of twitter clients were AIR apps, I would choose Twhirl. With that said, don’t turn to Syrinx for eye candy and features, however if, like me, you want links to open in Firefox and something with low memory usage, Syrinx is a clear choice.
