A hot area of development right now is in the field of desktop Twitter clients. Some like Tweetie, are Twitter-only, while others like Seesmic Desktop, handle a few different services with a focus on Twitter. The area is apparently so hot that Google is now even getting involved.
While technically, its Google Quick Search Box (QSB) is a Mac desktop application meant to make searching the web and your desktop a breeze, you’ll notice that it comes with exactly one additional account type (beyond Google) built in: Twitter. Yes, aside from typing queries into the QSB and getting results, you can also use it as a Twitter status updater.
Google isn’t the first of the big boys to get involved with Twitter on the desktop side of things, Yahoo recently launched Sideline, which is a much more full-fledged client. Unfortunately, QSB doesn’t allow you to see your Twitter follower stream, it just allows you to update your status right now.
There is a Quick Search Box built-in to the Windows version of Google Desktop as well, but to the best of my knowledge, it doesn’t promote this Twitter functionality in the same way, if it offers it at all.
Actually tweeting from QSB it is a bit tricky at first, so I’ll copy Google’s directions below:
- The secret of creating a “text” item: Text items are queries that start with a space (e.g. hit the space bar and then start typing). To tweet, activate the QSB, hit the space bar (creating a text item), and type in the text you want to tweet – remember Twitter has a 140 character limit! The selected result should be a “text” item. Hit the tab key to show the available actions on the item. Select the “Send Twitter Status” action for the account you wish to tweet with and hit the return key.
- Pivoting on the search result: If the text item thing confuses you, just pull up the QSB, type your query, and pivot (hit tab) on the search result. Select the “Send Twitter Status” action for the account you wish to tweet with and hit the return key.
It’s a pretty quick way to tweet something, actually. And it does a very nice job for searches as well, obviously. But one thing it doesn’t do that would make perfect sense, is search Twitter. Come on Google, get on that. What I want to know is, does anyone still really believe that Google has no interest in Twitter?
As many commenters are noting, this can basically replace Quicksilver for the Mac, and shares one of the same developers.
Is this Quicksilver reborn?
No kidding! They could have written a plugin for the much-loved QuickSilver, no?
QS is maybe for some, but QSB is clean looking, more simple, and quick to pull out the result you are looking for.
Yes, it is Quicksilver reborn. They hired Nicholas Jitkoff as one of the developers.
http://www.ocel...eincarnate.html
oh well.. was using it for a bit but couldn’t get stuf done like Quicksilver. Going back to Quicksilver for now. Anyway it’s nice to see that somebody is embracing Quicksilver and trying to make it better. Q can definitely use some development love…
Just curious, what are similarities/differences with Quicksilver?
I’ve been using QS for as long as I can remember, didn’t know there way anything out there that compared (let’s face it, the finder doesn’t).
My favorite is the Chinese desktop app.
You really do have to use it.
I mean you can’t get by without it.
Would you like to inform us on what it’s called? I wanted to get in to Twitter, but I don’t really know what program to use yet.
Disclaimer: Haven’t use the QSB yet.
Is not a bit risky to use the same box for search and Twitter. By accident private queries can be public?
AAfter search has been offering anonymous Twittering for a while from its search box, but you need to prefix it with t? as a safety measure.
Does anyone know why talk about the Chinese app is censored at TC?
umm…this “feature” seems, somewhat pointless. Is sending updates from Twirl, TweetDeck etc really *THAT* difficult and time consuming?
Im sorry for being negative, but I obviously dont “get it”.
It doesn’t seem very interested, but I’d like to test the Windows version.
what does this have to do with twitt… wait never mind.
I found out about it from the credit in your tweet. I just uninstalled Quicksilver.
yeah, my “just testing something” tweets are a good way to find things
Anything can turn into a post about Twitter!
It’s like six degrees of separation, except it never takes so many steps.
Sorry, to say this is old news very old. 6 months old.
sure, QSB has been testing with developers for a bit, but launched today.
Is there a way to make “Copy to Clipboard” one of the actions you can perform? I use that all the time in QuickSilver.
“As many commenters are noting, this can basically replace Quicksilver for the Mac, and shares one of the same developers.”
Well… yes… it could replace Quicksilver, but you’ll find that the latter has a very loyal following. Spreading usability to the masses will be great, if Google can do it, but I can’t see QSB ever gathering the level of affection folk have for QS. (Despite very similar initials.)
And besides, there’s a real thrill in waiting to see if your latest QS plugin will cause it to crash – fixing the problems gives even humble end-users a sense of ownership!
I have written an introductory guide to Quick Search Box
http://www.manu...-box-guide/329/
Feedback and comments welcome
I have written a guide to QSB.
http://www.manu...-box-guide/329/
Feedback and Comments welcome
The best Twitter client is MashLogic. It lets you tweet and search twitter from inside whatever page you’re on.
I can both twitter and search twitter from my toilet.
MG said…
What I want to know is, does anyone still really believe that Google has no interest in Twitter?
If for their technology, I believe no because I suspect that there is nothing there that researchers at Google don’t know already. If it is for the Twitter brand, then I bet that they do, because it is harder to build the brand than to develop the technology.
This will surely replace Quicksilver for the Mac
Twitter has a already a powerful real time search feature.
If this were an iPhone app it would be useful, hopefully Google open up the currently available app portfolio for the handset and allow the ability to reshare via Twitter!
For folks who are still using Quicksilver, there is a Twitter plugin for Quicksilver I made.
http://wiki.git...ootoh/qstwitter
The advantage of using it is that it can use Quicksilver’s nice feature, triggers. You can post a tweet directly, faster than using Quick Search Box.
Thanks MG, didn’t know Google had a tweeting app.
I’ve written some in the past few months about Google’s interest in real time applications like twitter. There are several real time platforms available but out of those, friendfeed and twitter serve their data up publicly (although with limited rates). Facebook is a walled garden with some entrances but it’s business model is one of making a new web inside of it.
Forgive my ignorance at a tech site, but can someone help me understand real-time basics/benefits? Thanks