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"Do you really need your Twitter client downloading new tweets when you aren’t using it?" I enjoy this a lot on Android, which is capable of notifying me of Tw

by Tichy 16y ago

"Do you really need your Twitter client downloading new tweets when you aren’t using it?" I enjoy this a lot on Android, which is capable of notifying me of Twitter replies and direct messages. A nice way to replace expensive SMS with free Twitter DMs. That "do you really need..." statement belongs on the shelf next to "640KB of RAM ought to be enough for everybody".

aaronbrethorst 16y ago
Use push notifications. I'd rather have better battery life than a client-side-only solution for knowing when I get replies and DMs on Twitter.
- jrockway 16y ago
  Premature optimization is the root of all evil. Turning the radio on for a second every 15 minutes does not use much battery. Certainly not as much as, say, turning on the screen for a few seconds to check whether or not you have any new DMs. The disadvantage is that you only get updates every 15 seconds. The advantage is that you don't have to host a hack that adds push notifications onto Twitter somehow.
- Tichy 16y ago
  Some process has to be running for push notifications, too.
  - aaronbrethorst 16y ago
    Whatever that process is, it's totally outside of the developer's control, and is maintained and optimized by Apple. I trust that the developers of the OS have a better sense for how to maximize their device's battery life than I do.
chrisbolt 16y ago
Twitbit on the iPhone will push mentions and DMs.
cmelbye 16y ago
Boxcar is a free app for iPhone that will check your Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, etc on their servers and send a push notification when there's something new. Much better for battery life than having Twitter and Facebook always running on the device.
- theBobMcCormick 16y ago
  Actually, they don't have to be running at all times on Android either. Apps can request to have a portion of them run on a periodic, or in 2.0 and above they can register a sync adapter with the OS sync manager. The sync manager handles scheduling and running of any registered sync adapters, and can adjust their schedules to minimize used radio time, and hence used battery life.
- bkudria 16y ago
  Notifo (YC) and http://push.ly http://push.ly do the same (for just Twitter) but the notifications arrive much faster than Boxcar.
- billmcneale 16y ago
  "Much better for battery life than having Twitter and Facebook always running on the device." Android has been proving that this claim is incorrect for at least a year now. Android supports true multitasking and you don't hear much about battery lifetime problems any more. Hopefully, Apple will catch up next year with the next iPhone.
  - Xuzz 16y ago
    Actually, I heard the battery life on the EVO was pretty horrid even with 4G off, and the other devices were acceptable, but not great.
    - auxbuss 16y ago
      I get four days out of my HTC Wildfire. That's with wireless, gps, and sync always on, 24/7. I'm syncing email every 10mins, twitter dm's and mentions every 15mins, facebook every hour, weather every 3 hours, plus gmail & google calandar whenever. I reckon that's pretty good. Admittedly, I don't spend hours on the phone each day.

by Tichy 16y ago

aaronbrethorst 16y ago

Use push notifications. I'd rather have better battery life than a client-side-only solution for knowing when I get replies and DMs on Twitter.

jrockway 16y ago
Premature optimization is the root of all evil. Turning the radio on for a second every 15 minutes does not use much battery. Certainly not as much as, say, turning on the screen for a few seconds to check whether or not you have any new DMs. The disadvantage is that you only get updates every 15 seconds. The advantage is that you don't have to host a hack that adds push notifications onto Twitter somehow.
Tichy 16y ago
Some process has to be running for push notifications, too.
- aaronbrethorst 16y ago
  Whatever that process is, it's totally outside of the developer's control, and is maintained and optimized by Apple. I trust that the developers of the OS have a better sense for how to maximize their device's battery life than I do.

chrisbolt 16y ago

Twitbit on the iPhone will push mentions and DMs.

cmelbye 16y ago

Boxcar is a free app for iPhone that will check your Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, etc on their servers and send a push notification when there's something new. Much better for battery life than having Twitter and Facebook always running on the device.

theBobMcCormick 16y ago
Actually, they don't have to be running at all times on Android either. Apps can request to have a portion of them run on a periodic, or in 2.0 and above they can register a sync adapter with the OS sync manager. The sync manager handles scheduling and running of any registered sync adapters, and can adjust their schedules to minimize used radio time, and hence used battery life.
bkudria 16y ago
Notifo (YC) and http://push.ly http://push.ly do the same (for just Twitter) but the notifications arrive much faster than Boxcar.
billmcneale 16y ago
"Much better for battery life than having Twitter and Facebook always running on the device." Android has been proving that this claim is incorrect for at least a year now. Android supports true multitasking and you don't hear much about battery lifetime problems any more. Hopefully, Apple will catch up next year with the next iPhone.
- Xuzz 16y ago
  Actually, I heard the battery life on the EVO was pretty horrid even with 4G off, and the other devices were acceptable, but not great.
  - auxbuss 16y ago
    I get four days out of my HTC Wildfire. That's with wireless, gps, and sync always on, 24/7. I'm syncing email every 10mins, twitter dm's and mentions every 15mins, facebook every hour, weather every 3 hours, plus gmail & google calandar whenever. I reckon that's pretty good. Admittedly, I don't spend hours on the phone each day.