TweetDeck

So we just launched our awesome new Deck.ly service, allowing you to send messages of unlimited length to Twitter, should you so desire. You'd think that was enough awesomeness for now wouldn't you?

Well think again, TweetDeck fans!

Not only did we add Deck.ly support, but we also added a selection of other features and fixes across our Chrome, Desktop and Android apps too.

The full changelogs are all available here, but lets take a quick look at some of the highlights...

Chrome

Image previews in the app

We now provide an in-app preview for a host of major image and video services, including YFrog, Twitpic, Instagram & Youtube. When you click to open a supported media type, the image or video will open in a preview window inside the app. You can click to view the media on the host site, as well as "share" the link, which drops the URL into the compose box for you.

Access Comments from Facebook Notifications

You can now view and add comments on Facebook updates direct from the notification in your Me (and "Notifications") column. When you get a new Facebook notification update, eg "Fred just liked your post", you can now click the comment button and you will be taken to the comment thread for the item in question.

Translated into 11 languages

Chrome TweetDeck will now match your system language for those using: English UK, Brazilian Portugese, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portugese & Spanish. There is no language setting in TweetDeck itself, it will just utilise the system language set by your operating system.

Better layout of Facebook attachments

Facebook news feed updates that contain attached links are now much clearer. The link is highlighted with a special icon so distinguish it from the message itself.

Desktop

In-app previews for Instagram images

Hipsters of the world can finally see their favourite 1970's style photos shown in all their glory in an in-app preview preview window.

Some tweaks and touch-ups

Including important fixes for issues with the Facebook authentication page & Twitter List updates.

Android

A few fancy fixes

Including:

• Scrolling under Honeycomb
• Previewing Intragr.am links containing _
• Use the correct account when replying

Look out for lots more updates coming over the next weeks and months, especially on Chrome and Android.

And of course, our fantastic brand-spanking-new, iOS4-compatible app is getting closer to completion and we expect to have more news for you on that very soon.

Watch this space!

"I feel the need — the need for speed!"
Top Gun

You may have thought that scorching through your Twitter feeds at the speed of an F-14 fighter jet was reserved for just the Mavericks of the world, with their Bomber jackets, Aviator sunglasses and User Stream TweetDecks. And, until today, you would have been right. 

But today's the day when everything changes.

You don't need a fighter jet. You don't need Goose in your back seat. You don't even need Kenny Loggins on the stereo.

All you need is to upgrade to the new, consolidated, all-in-one, turbo-charged-by-default TweetDeck v0.36.

The Story so far...

A long time ago in a galaxy - oops sorry, wrong film!

Back in July, Twitter enabled testing of a new way for third party clients to access the service in true real-time. This User Streams API allowed instant delivery of tweets, as opposed to the old API which relied on clients regularly checking for new tweets every few minutes.

To coincide with this launch we introduced a new version of TweetDeck that offered Twitter streams in awesome real-time. Recently, Twitter made the User Streams API fully live, at which point we removed the whitelist from our User Streams TweetDeck version and made it downloadable without having to signup.

Today we are completing the process by finally combining the User Streams Preview version of TweetDeck and the "original" version, to make one consolidated app that can switch between streaming and non-streaming at the flick of a switch.

So now, whether you're a Top Gun or just a top cat, thre is just one version of TweetDeck for you. Simple!

Afterburners are ON

Once you install v0.36, you will be automatically using real-time streaming for Twitter. In this way you can experience first-hand what it means to use TweetDeck in true real-time.

If, however, you dont feel like you can cope with the high-octane, utlimate Twitter experience, then you can easily go back to non-real-time Twitter streams by navigating to Settings > Twitter and unchecking the Enable realtime Twitter streaming checkbox.

With real-time streaming disabled, your TweetDeck will operate just as it previously did. If you change your mind and want to re-enable streaming, just turn this setting back on and your updates will start flowing at top speed once again.

Hints for new recruits

You can't just expect to jump into your F-14 and start buzzing the tower without a few pointers. So here are a few key articles from our support site that should help you understand some of the finer points of streaming updates in TweetDeck.

• Twitter may throttle your search results under certain circumstances
• Searches have slightly different rules - here are some tips
• You might want to reduce the amount of popup notifications - read about how TweetDeck batches notifications when streaming
• You can see when you get added to Lists in your New Followers column
• When someone favourites your tweet, you will be notified in your Mentions column
• Twitter does not yet include Lists in the Streaming API. Voice your support for them to be included here

Other than that, just strap yourself in and enjoy Twitter the way it was meant to be - in TweetDeck and in true real-time!

Not only very cool but *very important* too

Although bringing User Streams into the main app is, in itself, a very cool feature, there is also a very important change in v0.36 that makes this a vital upgrade for everyone.

Twitter is switching to a new way of assigning unique identifiers to each tweet in it's database. This new method, dubbed "Snowflake", has forced us to make some fundamental changes behind the scenes in TweetDeck.  

The result of all this techno-jiggery-pokery is that you *must* update to at least v0.36 urgently. If you have not upgraded before 24th November then your TweetDeck will start going very wrong.

Don't say we didn't warn you! :)

Oh, and one more thing...

Also in this build is a bit of very special TweetDeck magic....

We're not letting on exactly what this magic does just yet, but we can tell you that it opens the door to some very exciting cross-platform TweetDeck communication.

Watch this space, Decksters. You're going to love it!

The best friends in life are those that you dont have to see every day. You know how it goes; you keep meaning to catch up, but things get in the way. You’ve missed a few dinner dates because you were out with other friends. But it doesn’t matter, because you know that with your best friend you will just pick up right where you left off, even after such a long time apart.

We like to think of Desktop TweetDeck as your best friend. You have always been there for each other, but just recently you have been busy with your cool new friends on Android. Well, now its time to show a bit of love for your BFF and have that catch-up.

So pull up a chair, grab a coffee and sit down with Desktop TweetDeck v0.35.

In this release we have, of course, fixed a few bugs, but there are also some small, but important, new features. Oh, and we are talking about the normal version of TweetDeck here, not the super-swanky User Streams Preview version. That will be updated soon.

Trending Topics

When you install v0.35, you will have a new Trending Topics column, which pulls topics from Twitter and a description from WhatTheTrend.com. So finally you can keep up with the gossip around the hottest Twitter topics from within your Deck.

You can even click the column header to choose a country from the available list, for closer monitoring of local trends near you.

Smart cross-posting for longer tweets

Sometimes 140 characters just isn't enough to express your love of Justin Beiber. We understand that, and so have made it easier for you to send messages that are longer than 140 characters, without having to faff about with copying and pasting or external websites. Just cross-post to your Twitter and Buzz accounts and TweetDeck will post the start of your message to Twitter along with a link to the full post on Buzz. Clever eh?

Support for t.co shortend URLs

If you hover your mouse over a link shortened with Twitter’s t.co URL shortener you will now see the final destination URL in a small popup window. As Twitter now use this service more and more, this should give you a better idea about the link you are about to visit without actually having to click first.

Easy sign-in

One of the great features of our Android app is the sign-in procedure when using a TweetDeck account. This smooth operation, which automatically imports all the social networking accounts that have been added to your TweetDeck account, has now been added to the desktop app too. So if you ever have to reinstall your TweetDeck, just log in with your TweetDeck account and your other accounts will be automatically added for you.

Posterous Photo Uploading

We have added Posterous as a photo uploading serivce so you can now send photos to your default Posterous blog direct from TweetDeck. A small, but much-requested feature, now baked right into the app.

The full changelog for this release can be found on our support site.

It’s been good to catch up, lets do it again soon eh?