Update your circles without jumping through hoops
Social networks are great for keeping up with friends and colleagues, but for heavy users, their clunky web interfaces can be a pain in the mouse. You might think dedicated desktop apps can streamline your socializing, but sometimes, the clients themselves can make things more complex than they ought to be -- especially when all you're really trying to do is post pictures of your hamster riding a skateboard. Tab for Google+ aims for the sweet spot between "limited" and "overly complex" by bringing a slimmed-down web interface to your desktop with a click or keystroke. It's all the Circling and Googley social networking you need without having to open your browser -- at least, in theory.
Tab for Google+ lives in your menu bar. Clicking its icon or using a keyboard shortcut (which is annoyingly uncustomizable and the same as Mail's Send command) makes Tab for Google+ pop up as a floating window with posts from all of your Circles by default. The app uses the Google+ mobile interface, which is the same layout you would see when logging in to the service using Safari on an iPad or iPhone. This reduced view conserves space, but can be resized as needed. Tab for Google+ allows you to view posts and comments, respond to them, +1 them, and jump between any of your Google+ Circles with a simple click. A paid pro version of Tab for Google+ ($0.99) strips out ads and uses the full Google+ web interface in a floating window, and therefore includes Chat.
View and comment on posts from Google+ users right from your menu bar.
Unfortunately, the app often stumbled loading our Circles, especially when posting new messages -- and updating locations was also hit or miss. As a result, we could only reliably post messages as Public, negating the finely grained privacy controls that are Google+'s trademark feature. According to the developer, these issues are frailties of the Google+ mobile interface and are currently being addressed by both Google and Fiplab. So for the time being at least, Tab for Google+ is more of a viewer than a dedicated interface for sharing.
The bottom line. Tab for Google+ is a great idea—the design and easy access from the menu bar are awesome. But until a few problems are ironed out, it's not quite up to the task unless you're looking for a fairly passive social experience.
Product:
Company:
Contact:
Price:
Requirements:
Mac OS 10.6 or later
Positives:
Unobtrusive floating interface. Easy to access from menu bar.
Negatives:
Bugs cause issues when posting. Shortcut keys not customizable.
Sent from my iPhone
沒有留言:
發佈留言