Although Firefox, Mozilla’s free open source browser, includes a host of Twitter extensions on its Add-ons website, one that stands out from the pack is Twitbin.
Twitbin, which runs from the Firefox sidebar, lets Firefox users easily log into and out of their Twitter accounts, post and reply to tweets, view all public tweets, and see their friends’ latest messages.
Downloading and Installing Twitbin 2.0
Users of Firefox versions 2.0 through 3.5 can download and install Twitbin 2.0 directly from the Firefox add-ons site or from the Twitbin website. Once downloaded, the extension automatically installs itself. Restarting Firefox completes the installation.
The Twitbin sidebar appears when users click on the Twitbin icon, the "bird" image located in the Firefox statusbar. The Twitbin sidebar consists of a message board headed by a toolbar, a message bar, and a tab bar.
The Twitbin Toolbar
The Twitbin toolbar contains five icons and the number “-140.” The “bird” icon, identical to the Twitbin icon on the Firefox statusbar, connects users to the Twitbin website. The “person” icon allows them to login to their Twitter accounts.
After users have logged in, the word “logout” will be added to this toolbar. The “wrench” icon lets users change their Twitbin preferences. From the preferences menu, they can also view the Twitter pages listing their friends and followers. The next icon, a “refresh” symbol, permits instant updating of messages. The “camera” icon lets users share pictures on Twitter through the Pikchur.com website.
The Twitbin Message Bar
Twitbin’s message bar appears directly below the toolbar. Users type their messages in the message bar and send them by pressing “Enter.” While typing, users will see the “-140” number on the toolbar count down the remaining characters allowed in the message. Users can further reduce this count by using the “Tweet This!” option that appears in Firefox’s page view context menu to shorten the URLs of pages they want to link to in their messages.
The Twitbin Tab Bar
Twitbin’s Tab Bar, the third bar in the Twitbin sidebar, contains tabs that display messages from friends, replies to messages (indicated as @), direct messages (shown as D), favorites (shown with a heart), and all public messages. An additional tab, blandly labeled “Tab,” lets users create custom tabs for up to five users.
The Twitbin Message Board
The Twitbin message board takes up most of the Twitbin sidebar. Each entry on the message board shows the poster’s name, the icon associated with the account, the message, the time the message was posted, and the source of the message.
The message board also contains four icons that allow users to respond to the posts. The fast forward symbol lets users retweet selected messages, the “heart” icon lets users mark messages as favorites, the “reply” symbol (@) lets them post a public reply, and the “envelope” icon permits direct replies exclusively to the sender of a message.
Evaluation of Twitbin
Twitbin 2.0 installs easily as a component of Firefox's All-in-One sidebar and appears to have no compatibility issues with other Firefox extensions running under Firefox 3.5. Twitbin's feature set is solid and includes nearly all the functionality Twitter users need.
Missing, however, is one feature found in other Firefox Twitter extensions – the ability to retrieve feeds from Twitter followers. Twitbin's user support division has indicated that this feature is not yet included in plans for future releases.
The extent of helpful information on Twitbin's website is yet another plus for this Firefox extension. It provides users with information on new releases, tips on using Twitbin, forums and a helpful introductory video.
Carol Thomas - Carol Thomas began her writing career by teaching English Composition at two Kentucky universities. A 25-year detour into academic ...
