Download Squad

Over the past year, there's been something of a gold-rush for Twitter clients on the iPhone. From Twitterrific to Twitterfon, Tweetie to the recently-launched TweetDeck, there's a bucketload of apps to let you use Twitter on the go. Today sees the launch of another challenger for space on your homescreen: Birdfeed [iTunes Link]: "A very nice Twitter client for your iPhone".

In trying Birdfeed this evening, it's clear that a huge amount of time has been spent on the application from the exceptional icons (similar in style to those in another Download Squad favourite-app, Things) to some smart touches. Here's just some that caught my eye:

• a small dot in the 'Compose Tweet' button to show the presence of a draft
• a super-handy 'home' button that takes you back to your original list of tweets when you're drilling-down in the options
• the auto-loading of more tweets once you reach the bottom of the list
• integration with services like Favrd.

It's worth noting that Birdfeed doesn't do absolutely everything you may see in other clients. However that's of little concern to me quite frankly, as it features all the options I need on the go. Birdfeed is extremely well designed, super-snappy and well worth the $4.99 price. I know, we're fickle here at Download Squad when it comes to Twitter clients. However if you're wanting a slick new Twitter client, Birdfeed gets our thumbs up.

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It's been a long-debated topic as to the pricing (and availability) of Apple's next operating system release: Mac OS X 10.6 - a.k.a. Snow Leopard. However at the annual Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco Apple has (if you'll excuse the pun) let the cat out of the bag and announced that Snow Leopard will be available in September for $29 (if you're upgrading from Mac OS X Leopard), with Family Packs for up to 5 computers costing just $49 - again, if you're upgrading from 10.5.

Long-touted as 'just' a behind-the-scenes update, Snow Leopard features support for Microsoft Exchange, a re-written Finder and an all-new QuickTime player with hardware acceleration and built-in YouTube uploading. There's also a tonne of new developer technologies to allow developers to handle multi-processor machines with Grand Central, and an all-round speed increase for all the OS components.

Apple's official web pages have yet to be updated with the pricing details or more information beyond the original holding pages, however in today's WWDC keynote Apple confirmed dates, pricing and some more features - as well as confirming that Mac OS X Snow Leopard is indeed going to only run on Intel-based Macs.

If you're running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger on an Intel machine, the options are between a Mac Box Set (featuring Snow Leopard, iLife '09 and iWork '09) for $169 or 5-User Family Pack which brings you the iLife, iWork and Snow Leopard package for $229.

If you're wanting to stay up to date on everything at WWDC, be sure to stop by our good friends at TUAW who're covering the conference throughout this week.

There's a boatload of Twitter clients out there for the iPhone (it seems to be that everyone's wanting to write them nowadays) however the Iconfactory's Twitterrific was one of the very first to appear on the iDevices and now has hit version 2.0.

The original version of Twitterrific, which debuted at the launch of the App Store last summer, was a very slick app that let you read and update Twitter on the go. But since then many other clients such as Tweetie, Twitterfon and the likes have brought plenty more features to the table, and Twitterrific developer Craig Hockenberry has talked on his own blog about why the original Twitterrific didn't include them.

However that's all changed in this all-new version and Twitterrific 2.0 brings you pretty much every feature you've been using in the likes of Tweetie (a favourite amongst us here at Download Squad HQ). Read on for the low-down on some of the all-new features in Twitterrific 2.0 along with our gallery!

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No doubt you're familiar with the BBC iPlayer: we've been closely following the product's development since its cross-platform launch a little over a year ago. Since then we've seen plenty of developments, including the release of a desktop client (using Adobe's AIR technology) and today is another notable date for the iPlayer project.

In a move that's likely to please a lot of users - and infuriate already-annoyed internet providers - the BBC has announced that High Definition downloads are now available via a new version of the service's desktop client. The client will detect the speed of your connection which will pick the appropriate bit-rate version depending on your internet connection. The HD content, available as ever to British residents only, is available now via the BBC iPlayer site and there's plenty more content promised including Doctor Who and Dragons' Den.

If you're in need of some fresh iPhone suggestions this Easter weekend, here's a few awesome apps that have caught our eye or been recently updated. If I've missed your favourite iPhone app, be sure to share it in the comments!

1. Flight Control [$1 - iTunes Link]
Flight Control is a ridiculously-simple, yet super stylish game that tasks you with ensuring that a variety of aeroplanes land on their designated runways. Priced at $1 (at least for now) Flight Control is as addictive as it is slick, and it's got a permanent place on my homescreen.

2. Darkslide [Free with Ads, $3.99 without - iTunes Link]
I've spoken before about Darkslide, but if you're a Flickr fan and recently uploaded videos the the service, you'll love the recent update to Darkslide that lets you playback videos on your phone - great for showing friends and family a video that would have previously required a laptop to playback.

3. Trapster [Free - iTunes Link]
If you're travelling to see family this weekend, Trapster may come in handy. Trapster is a social network that allows users to share the location of speed traps, and their free iPhone app allows you to keep tabs on trap locations around the world on the go: super handy for avoiding an Easter weekend ticket.

4. Ego [$1.99 - iTunes Link]
If you're on the road and want to keep tabs on personal stats such as website visitors (or Twitter followers for the vain amongst you) Ego is for you. Beautifully designed, and with more services being added all the time, Ego is a user interface and web-stat junkies dream.

5. Bump [Free - iTunes Link]
There's a tonne of business-card exchange applications on the App Store. However the consensus in my unscientific tests (conducted, in the name of Download Squad, in the pub with some friends) is that Bump is perhaps the 'funnest'. You and a friend simply launch the application on your iPhones, select the contact details you're happy to share, and then 'bump' the two phones together. Through the magic of location data and timestamps, your vCard is sent, and your contact's vCard is added to your Address Book.