Twitter has announced user token limits for 3rd party Twitter apps which means that, one day, they'll no longer be able to accept new users. It won't be today, or tomorrow, or perhaps even for a year or more. But it will happen, and if Twitter changes things again, it could happen sooner rather than later.

So to get in and get your tokens now, and to support the developers who have devoted their time, money, sweat, tears, and blood into making better experiences than Twitter themselves were willing to or were capable of, grab one these apps now. If you want some real fun, grab all of them.

Twitterrific

Twitterrific by the Iconfactory was the very first Twitter application for the iPhone, even predating Apple's official App Store. It was also the first Twitter client for the iPad, and has had a Mac client for as long as anybody. It is full-featured and award-winning, with a beautiful and intuitive interface that's especially well suited to anyone who is new to Twitter or simply wants to enjoy Twitter as a reading experience.

Unlike other Twitter apps, Twitterrific provides a unified timeline so you can see everything all at once -- the tweets of the people you follow, your @mentions, and your Direct Messages (DMs), all tastefully color-coded and presented for your chronological reading pleasure.

Twitterrific is a universal app for iPhone and iPad, and there's separate app for the Mac as well.

Tweetbot

Tweetbot by Tapbots is it a beauty. A text review can hardly do this app justice because it is impossible to put into words how beautifully Tweetbot is made. Sure, I can describe how, at your touch, a tweet slides up revealing a navigation bar while simultaneous emitting the perfect sound. I can explain that swiping a tweet to right reveals the conversation and swiping to left displays related tweets. I can tell you about smart gestures, multiple timelines, and customizable navigation. I can even spew out a concrete list of every feature that Tweetbot includes. What I can't provide you, however, is the experience.

Tweetbot is different. It's innovative and refreshing. Tweetbot isn't an app you use, it's one you interact with. Everything has an animation, a sound, an interaction. And true to Tapbots' style, the sounds are subtle and pleasant – enriching the experience. For those who are suckers for design and innovation Tweetbot will rock your world.

Tweetbot is a universal app that works on both iPhone and iPad. There's a separate Mac version available as a free public alpha as well.

• $2.99 - Download now

Twittelator Neue

Twittelator Neue is pure eye candy. There's a new wave of apps that are trying out new layering effects and physics, new animations and interactions. Twittelator Neue, like Path, is one of those leading the way. This is not Apple's Twitter client. It's not flat and utilitarian like Mail or overly skeumorphic like Find my Friends. It's glossy, it's polished, it's fresh, and it's refreshing.

Twittelator Neue doesn't have the functionality of some other apps. It picks and chooses its battles carefully. But what it does, Twittelator Neue does beautifully.

iPhone only.

• $1.99 - App Store link

Other Twitter apps

For even more Twitter apps, including Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Osfoora, Tweetings, Tweetlist, Tweetlogix, and Echofone, check out:

• Top 10 best alternative Twitter apps for iPhone and iPad

Steve Jobs' personal iPad was one of the items taken when the Jobs' house was burglarized back in July. Kenny the Clown came across the iPad when it was given to him by his friend, McFarlin, who was later arrested for robbing the house.

Doing what any good clown would do, he had loaded up the iPad with apps such as Pink Panther in order to help entertain crowds in the Bay Area. Imagine his disbelief when the cops showed up in order to retrieve the iPad and he found out who the original owner had been.

"I didn't notice anything special or anything like that," said Kahn, adding he had the iPad for three or four days before police asked for it back. "It was silver; it looked normal. I was basically using it like an iPod."

"It would be like getting a football from Joe Montana that was stolen out of his house," said the 47-year-old professional clown, whose real name is Kenneth Kahn. "It's bizarre; it's really bizarre."

Yes, Kenny, that is very bizarre indeed.

Source: Mercury News

iOS 6 will allow users to use FaceTime over the cellular network as opposed to just Wi-Fi. AT&T has released a statement saying they will not charge extra for the FaceTime over cellular feature but you'll need to be on one of their new Mobile Share plans in order to have access to it.

AT&T has declined to comment on initial reports that they may charge extra for FaceTime over cellular, until today:

AT&T will offer FaceTime over Cellular as an added benefit of our new Mobile Share data plans, which were created to meet customers' growing data needs at a great value. With Mobile Share, the more data you use, the more you save. FaceTime will continue to be available over Wi-Fi for all our customers.

Some users on the iOS 6 beta were reportedly receiving a message when trying to enable the feature that said they'd need to call in to activate the service. This lead to speculation that wireless carriers may indeed charge extra or not allow it at all.

Sprint has already said publicly that they will not charge extra for the feature and Verizon has declined to comment yet. There's no doubt that FaceTime over cellular will use an incredible amount of data and it's reasonable to assume carriers may be concerned with that.

AT&T's solution seems to be to force customers onto new Mobile Share plans that may or may not be right for them. Considering carriers have already migrated to capped data plans, it would make more sense to allow it only any plan except grandfathered unlimited ones and just charge overages when someone exceeds their limit, Mobile Share plan or not.

If you're currently on AT&T does FaceTime over cellular provide enough incentive for you to switch to a Mobile Share plan or will you just go without?

Source: MacRumors

pod2g has just published a blog regarding an SMS vulnerability he's found in iOS that could allow someone to abuse the protocol for SMS in order to spoof or send fake text messages. The exploit has been an issue since the incarnation of iOS and is still present in iOS 6 beta 4.

He's now urging Apple to fix it.

He goes on to explain a bit about the protocol that is used to send SMS messages, PDU (Protocol Description Unit), and how it works.

PDU is a protocol that is pretty dense, allowing different types of messages to be emitted. Some examples : SMS, Flash SMS, Voice mail alerts, EMS, ... The specification is large and pretty complex. As an example, just to code the data, there are multiple possible choices : 7bit, 8bit, UCS2 (16bit), compressed or not, ...

The problem is that if you own a smartphone or a modem you have the ability to send messages in this raw type of format. There's also an optional section, UDH (User Data Header), that not all smartphones are compatible with but that allows more advanced features to be sent in a message. Some of these "more advanced features" include changing the reply-to address or sending the message from a different number altogether. The iPhone does support these features and contains a vulnerability that makes it susceptible to attacks by hackers that may choose to abuse this system.

pod2g lays out a few ways in which hackers could take advantage of this exploit:

• pirates could send a message that seems to come from the bank of the receiver asking for some private information, or inviting them to go to a dedicated website. [Phishing]
• one could send a spoofed message to your device and use it as a false evidence.
• anything you can imagine that could be utilized to manipulate people, letting them trust somebody or some organization texted them.

There are tools already available that make it rather simple to manipulate this data on smartphones. He's also created a tool for the iPhone 4 that he also plans on releasing. He is currently urging Apple to fix the issue before the public release of iOS 6 and warns that you should never trust an SMS message containing sensitive data on your iPhone in the time being.

Do you think releasing the tool will get Apple's attention or just cause more issues in the mean time for end users?

Source: pod2g

Screen sharing and VNC apps allow you to log in and access other computers remotely straight from your iPad. Whether you've forgotten a file on your work computer, need to access data from your Mac at home while you're on vacation, or want to run your server room from pool-side, a VNC app is what you need to get the job done. LogMeIn Ignition, Screens, and iTeleport will all give you access to any Mac, PC, or server you've linked them up with from anywhere in the world. But, they all handle the process in very different ways. Is one more convenient and full featured than the others or will they cater to completely different user bases? Follow along and we'll help you figure out which one may be right for you.

LogMeIn Ignition vs. Screens vs. iTeleport: Initial setup process

LogMeIn Ignition uses their own login service and aggregates all your remote computers underneath that one login. Once you create an account with LogMeIn and download the software to the computers you'd like remote access to, you're good to go from any iPad and iPhone you've got the app installed on.

Upon launching LogMeIn Ignition on your iPad for the first time, you'll be presented with a login screen. Just enter the e-mail and password that you created an account with and you'll then be presented with a list of computers that are connected to your account. Tapping on the computer icon next to the machine you want access to will start a remote session. You do not need to leave Ignition software on your computer running in order to start a remote connection. It'll start up on its own when a request comes through which is nice since you won't have to remember to leave a client running at all times.

Screens is similar to LogMeIn Ignition and utilizes their own login process called Screens Connect. You'll need a username in order to access your computers remotely. Once you've created a login and downloaded the Screens Connect software to each of the computers you need to access, they'll show up under remote computers in settings.

Screens will show all computers that have screen sharing and file sharing enabled on your network as well. You don't need a Screens Connect ID in order to access these computers but you will for remote access when you're off the network. You can tell which computers are connected locally and which ones are remote by the little radio tower icon next to some computers. This means they are set up to be connected remotely and are running Screens Connect software.

iTeleport utilizes GTalk's services in order to allow remote connection. Essentially, if you've got a Gmail login, you'll be good to go. If you don't you'll need to create one in order to use iTeleport.

Once you've got iTeleport installed on your iPad you'll need to also install the iTeleport client to all the computers you need access from. The only down side is that you'll need to make sure the client is running in order to use iTeleport and connect remotely from your iPad. If you accidentally close it out or don't forget to open it before leaving, you won't be able to access anything remotely.

When it comes to getting set up and accessing your computers remotely, LogMeIn Ignition offers the easiest access. In certain cases, I've had Screens not want to connect unless I restart Screens Connect on my computer and keeping the iTeleport client running on my Macs is just something I forget to do. With LogMeIn Ignition there's nothing I need to remember to do. It just works.

LogMeIn Ignition vs. Screens vs. iTeleport: User interface and controls

LogMeIn Ignition utilizes an ID that will store all your computers. Once you're signed in you'll see a list of all your computers. You can choose to access the computer remotely, view the file manager, or view info on the computer.

Tapping remote access will launch a window that will show the desktop of your computer. You will see a row of icons along the bottom that will allow you to navigate around the desktop. Tapping the mouse icon will toggle between right and left click. You can also customize scroll options within settings. Besides mouse and general settings you've got a keyboard button, zoom button, and close.

Not only does LogMeIn let you control your computers remotely, it also lets you drag and drop files from other systems and cloud services around. Instead of choosing a computer to control, click the file manager button in the middle instead of the remote control button. This will open a file manager inside of the main dash that you can drag and drop files to and from. Now tap the window frame icon in the top right of the screen to go to the main dash. From here you'll see a window section for your computers, cloud banks, local files (those that are stored on your iPad), and any file systems you've opened on any remote computers.

If you want to copy a file from your iMac to your MacBook you can simply navigate to the file on the system it currently resides on, click the copy (or move) button and you'll be taken back to the main dash. Tap the window for the system you need to move it to and navigate to where you need to drop it. Then click the green Drop Here banner that appears on the item you're trying to drop.

Screens will show you either a tiled or larger view of all the computers you have connected on the main menu. From here you can tap into them in order to start remote access. Once the screen loads you'll notice that all your toggles are along the bottom. Quick keys like the command and alt+option buttons are along the left.

On the right you'll see a couple of buttons. The first one allows you to disconnect, change modes from control or observe modes, and change scroll and input settings. The second button shows quick items that you may want such as your function keys, spotlight search, minimize window, close, find, redo, quit, and more.

The button to the far right is your keyboard and tapping it will present a virtual keyboard that you can use to type input on. You'll notice that when your keyboard is up you'll still have the top navigation bar above the actual keyboard for quick access to other functions whenever you need them.

iTeleport may not have as fancy of an interface as both Screens and LogMeIn Ignition but it doesn't seem to make it any harder to use. Your main menu will show up as a list view of machines that are online, wakeable, and offline. Tapping any online computer will instantly load remote access. If it's your first time using iTeleport you may be asked to enter your Mac credentials. If you choose to save them you won't be asked every time and you'll just be taken into remote access when clicking into an online computer.

Once controlling a computer you will notice a navigation bar with the options to end remote access, change settings, view on-screen function keys, shortcuts, and keyboard. You can choose to leave the function keys activated and they'll hover at the top of the screen. These keys on Mac consist of shift, control, command, and option. It's a lot more convenient to leave them toggled to on so you can quickly have access to them whenever you need to.

iTeleport has two input modes that I found will fit most people and those are regular mode which is what will be activated by default and touchscreen mode. If you prefer the scrolling and tapping to click on things that your iPad provides, you can enable touchscreen mode via settings. If you prefer controlling the computer the way you would a traditional desktop machine you can leave it off and just adjust the controls and scrolling individually as you wish.

When it comes to user interface and controlling your computer remotely, LogMeIn Ignition and Screens have a more appealing interface than iTeleport. While Screens is easy to use, LogMeIn Ignition slides ahead due to a more appealing and consistent interface.

LogMeIn Ignition vs. Screens vs. iTeleport: Managing files remotely

When it comes to managing files remotely, LogMeIn Ignition allows you to sync to services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Box.net, and any other webDAV server you'd like. You can also use the main dash to open individual file systems and drag and drop files from one system to another. You can even copy photos from other file systems straight to your iPad as well. It's much more convenient than copying to Dropbox or e-mailing files to yourself from a remote computer.

Even though services like Dropbox can act as a median between computers, LogMeIn Ignition allows you to drag, drop, and manage files natively while Screens and iTeleport do not.

LogMeIn Ignition vs. Screens vs. iTeleport: Syncing and desktop apps

LogMeIn Ignition, Screens, and iTeleport all have iPhone counterparts that are universal downloads, which means if you purchase the app on one, you'll have access to it on the other. The only exception to this is that iTeleport has a version for just iPad and one for just iPhone. The universal version is only $5 more and will grant you access to both for one price.

When it comes to syncing on the desktop, Ignition, Screens, and iTeleport support both Mac and PC. What it really comes down to is how well those solutions actually work.

LogMeIn Ignition uses their own native client that you can download from their website. You can download a trial version of LogMeIn Pro for either Mac or PC. If you choose not to purchase the pro version it will simply convert to the free version after the trial expires.

The free version of LogMeIn for PC and Mac will give you remote access from anywhere from any device including mobile, wake on LAN capabilities, and heavy 256-bit SSL encryption. The pro version will give you everything the free version gives you but adds file transfer, remote management, desktop sharing, and HD quality. It's important to note that if you have Ignition installed on your iPad you will be able to utilize file transfer and remote management from there, just not the desktop client itself if you have the free version.

Screens also supports both Mac and PC and has clients for both by way of their own native app Screens Connect. It'll stay running and allow you to access remotely from your Screens ID. If you only plan on accessing files on the same network you won't need to be logged into Screens Connect if you don't want to. All computers that are available for screen sharing on your network will automatically populate. The ones that are eligible and linked to your Screens Connect account will show a little radio tower next to them indicating that you can access them from anywhere remotely.

iTeleport also supports both iPad and iPhone as well as Mac and PC. If you're an older Power PC user, they also have a legacy client to support that too. iTeleport relies on the GTalk service in order to provide remote access. You'll need to make sure that any computer you want to access remotely has the iTeleport Connect client installed and running at all times. This can be a bit of a nuisance considering if you restart your computer and forget to re-open iTeleport connect and sign in you won't be able to access that computer remotely. A solution is to make sure the program is set to start upon login and connect automatically.

When it comes to syncing support, LogMeIn ignition provides the most seamless experience since once you download the client you can forget about it and you'll still be able to access all the computers linked with your account remotely regardless of whether or not you have the desktop app opened.

LogMeIn Ignition vs. Screens vs. iTeleport: Pricing

LogMeIn Ignition is a universal download for both iPad and iPhone but will run you a steep $129.99 to purchase the app. They do offer a heavily skimmed down version for free but you'll lose file manager features, HD quality, and cloud banks.

The desktop version of LogMeIn is free or you can opt for LogMeIn Pro which will give you all the same features you have in the mobile app. The pro version will run you an additional $69.95 a year but for most users, the free desktop client will probably suit most needs. If you plan on doing most of your remote controlling from your iPad or iPhone and don't have a need to do it from the actual desktop app, I'd suggest LogMeIn Free for the desktop paired with the paid version of LogMeIn Ignition for iOS.

Screens is a lot more reasonable in price than LogMeIn Ignition and weighs in at $19.99 which will give you access on both your iPhone and iPad. The desktop software for both Mac and PC is a free download as is a Screens Connect username.

iTeleport has an iPad only version that will run you $19.99 or you can spring for the $24.99 version which will be a universal app for both iPad and iPhone. The iTeleport Connect client for both Mac and PC is free and won't cost you anything additional. The only other thing you'll need is a Gmail address which most people have nowadays anyways. If you don't, that is of course free as well.

When it comes to pricing, Screens absolutely offers the best value if you only need to control your computers remotely and don't need the extra features such as file managing and cloud banks which only LogMeIn Ignition offers. If you've got a service like Dropbox or Google Drive synced to all your computers and iOS devices, you can always drop files from one remote computer into the service of your choice for access across all other devices.

When it comes to price, Screens is the best value but if you want a complete package LogMeIn Ignition is the only one that will provide it regardless of the high price tag.

LogMeIn Ignition vs. Screens vs. iTeleport: The bottom line

iTeleport is neither the best nor the best value. However, if you really don't like the price of LogMeIn or the interface of Screens, iTeleport is an option.

LogMeIn Ignition is the best all around screen sharing and VNC client package when it comes to user interface, ease of use, simplicity, and features. You've got one login to rule them all and once you install the software you'll never have to think about it again if you don't want to. It's also the only service that offers features like file management and direct access to cloud services. If convenience is more of a concern to you than price is, look no further than LogMeIn Ignition.

Screens is the best value for your money. Sceens is super easy to navigate and easy to set up. If you only need to access your computers remotely and screen sharing is all you're concerned with, Screens is the client for you.

iTeleport - $24.99 - Download Now

LogMeIn Ignition - $129.99 - Download Now

Screens VNC - $19.99 - Download Now

Not all iOS device Wi-Fi speeds are created equal. If your family has a mix of devices, like an iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and iPod touch 3, it can be difficult to get maximum performance from your Wi-Fi router. The iPad can do fast 802.11n on the relatively clear 5GHz frequency. The iPhone 4S can do fast 802.11n, but only on the more cluttered 2.4GHz frequency. The iPod touch can only do slower 802.11b/g, and only on 2.4GHz. Even if you have a dual-band router, like Apple's latest AirPorts, even as the iPad zips along at 802.11n on 5Ghz, the slower iPod touch or even an iPhone 3GS will force the iPhone 4S down to 802.11b/g on 2.4GHz. So what's a geek to do?

If you have a desktop computer or server that stays on most of the time, you can set up Bluetooth tethering for your older devices, getting them off Wi-Fi and letting your 802.11n devices speed along unhindered. It's a bit of a workaround, and your Bluetooth-connected devices will be limited to 20mbs, but the slower slows will also give you faster fasts on your more modern devices. For me, that's a great tradeoff. If you agree, here's how to do it on OS X Mountain Lion.

On you iPod touch

1. Launch Settings.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Bluetooth.
4. Turn Bluetooth to On.

On your Mac:

1. Launch System Preferences .
2. Click on Network.
3. Ensure that you have a Bluetooth PAN device in your left hand column. (If not, add one.)
4. Go back to the main System Preferences pane.
5. Click on Sharing.
6. Enable Internet Sharing.
7. Share your connection via Wi-Fi (or if wired, via ethernet)
8. Enable the Bluetooth PAN option.
9. Go back to the main System Preferences pane.
10. Click on Bluetooth.
11. Click on the + button to set up a new device
12. Wait for the wizard to discover it, then pair your iPod touch.

Back on your iPod touch

1. Launch Settings.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Bluetooth.
4. Tap on the newly created Bluetooth connection.

That's it. Now your older, slower devices have been offloaded onto Bluetooth, and your newer devices can blaze ahead on fast 802.11n!

If you have any other tips on handling multiple devices, and multiple generations of devices, for your family, let me know!

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The often incendiary, but just as often sincere, Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry.com followed up a recent, provocative Tweet with an editorial saying no one who uses an iPad should ever leave the default "Sent from my iPad" signature -- or any "Sent from my Any Tablet" signature for that matter -- on their email. While it might be tempting to dismiss Kevin's advice, he argues his position on CrackBerry.com well:

In general, you're replying to emails from a mobile phone because you have to. You're away from your computer. As for tablets -- especially in the business use case I'm focusing on here -- if you're writing a long email on your tablet it's because you choose to, not because you have to.

Unlike the default signature on the phone, which subconciously tells the recipient you're responsive all the time and from everywhere (a good thing), the same isn't true of the tablet signature. To me, and the many others who have expressed agreement with my viewpoint, it gives off the appearance that you're a person who doesn't value your time. If you did, you'd head to a computer and pound out that email wayyyyy faster. Time is money. And if you're a person I'm paying to provide services, the last thing I want to see is time wasted.

Of course, there are exceptions. YES, some people are mad fast at typing on glass. YES, you can use bluetooth keyboards with your tablet and speed things up a lot. YES, you may have to use a tablet for work and do not have a computer alternative to go to. But these are exceptions, and your default tablet email signature does not reflect those exceptions.

Kevin also argues that having "Sent from my [anything]" is basically giving the company, whose product you already paid for, free advertising. Depending on who you are and who your contacts include, that kind of brand marketing can be incredibly valuable for them. And you paid them for that privilege.

Why broadcast what you're using to respond to an email when it doesn't add any value to you, and provides free advertising to a company you already paid $500 to almost $1000?

Like most things, however, it's more nuanced than that. Apple products have a certain cachet. Especially when a new product launches, it's not uncommon for people to want to show off that they have it -- including highly productive people like CEOs and high profile people like celebrities. That filters down.

iPads are also popular in education and enterprise, including health care, insurance, and other verticals where the tablet form-factor is a huge advantage. If IT departments don't change the dafault signature during provisioning, "Sent from my iPad" is what a lot of highly productive people's emails are going to say, and I'm not going to read anything into that other than that's what their email signature says.

Still, Kevin's point has merit. Information is power, and the less information you give out, even if it's just an email signature, the less power you give up, even if its just perception (or misperception).

Check out Kevin's entire rant on the subject via the link below and then come back and tell us what you think -- "Sent from my iPad" or no "Sent from my iPad", what do you prefer?

Source: CrackBerry.com

Yet more rumors are surfacing about Apple's plans for a set-top box that would provide access not only to traditional iTunes content, but traditional TV content as well. Interestingly, for the second day in a row, the report comes by way of the Wall Street Journal's Jessica E. Vascellaro and Sam Schechner:

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company proposes giving viewers the ability to start any show at any time through a digital-video recorder that would store TV shows on the Internet. Viewers even could start a show minutes after it has begun. Time Warner Cable Inc. TWC -0.25% offers a limited version of this feature called Start Over.

In addition to the cable operators the WSJ mentioned yesterday, they now say Apple is also approaching entertainment companies directly, with outlines of the rumored device's rumored capabilities. These are reportedly a simplified, iconic interface akin to that on the iPad (or, um, Apple TV?), the ability to engage in social networking on-screen, and, of course, support for existing Apple technologies like AirPlay.

Some of the features Apple has discussed are improvements, but not radical changes, to those already available. For instance, Apple wants viewers to be able to access all episodes of current seasons of TV shows, whereas existing video on demand services from cable operators generally often offer only a few episodes of a current season. Apple's proposed device would also provide access to older seasons of shows, which are already available through Apple's iTunes media store.

The WSJ points out, again, that this is a departure from Apple's previous strategy, which amounted to an end run around cable companies, similar to the end-run around record stores Apple pulled off with iTunes music. In both cases entrenched brokers controlled the supply of content, but while record stores were brick and mortar businesses, cable operators literally own the pipes that bring content to our doorsteps and into our living rooms. They also have agreements in place that aren't so easily worked around...

Again, however, two reports in the WSJ on two consecutive days is interesting. Or positioning. Why now, when there's already a plethora of Apple product rumors concerning the iPhone 5, iPad mini and the rest of the iOS device line up ahead of the rumored September 12? Why the repeated references to changed strategies and cable-engagement? Why....? /Plinkket

Given Apple keeps the, by their standards low-selling, Apple TV "hobby" on the market is evidence of how serious Apple is about the living room. These rumors are likely indicators of how serious they continue to be. We'll still have to wait and see what, if anything, actually emerged by way of an Apple DVR.

But as I've said numerous times, my cable company's terrible Scientific Atlanta box hasn't been updated in a decade. It's in desperate need of innovation -- of revolution -- and if Apple can do it, I'll throw money at them in a heartbeat.

How about you?

Instagram has gone 3.0 and includes a lot of improvements including a new feature called Photo Map. Photo Map displays all your geotagged instagram photos on a map making it super easy to browse your photos by location. In addition to Photo Map, Instagram 3.0 also brings redesigned profile and upload screens, infinite scrolling on photo feeds, the ability to flag inappropriate comments, and more.

Keep in mind that when using Photo Map, it's important to consider privacy and security before adding photos. For example, it's probably a bad idea to add photos that will indicate where you live or work. Instagram did a great job of making sure they made this clear to their users with a huge message before allowing you to use Photo Map for the first time.

When you first use Instagram after installing the update, you will be prompted to add all your existing photos to your Photo Map. You will be able to select exactly which photos you want add and they will be organized by location making it easy to remember where you took the photos.

Viewing the photos on a map is actually a very fun experience. As you zoom around the map, you can watch the photo separate into more specific groups. If you tap on a group, the map will zoom into an area that includes all those photos and separate them into more specific locations. The animations are very smooth and fun. Great work by the Instagram team.

The profile screens have also been updated to include a tap for viewing the user's Photo Map. Additionally, you can browse though the user's photos as thumbnails or as a feed.

Personally, I'm loving this update. How about you?

Free - Download Now

Twitter has announced the upcoming version 1.1 of their API, and provided yet more "direction" to Twitter app developers. First, it's important to remember that the sky isn't falling. The Twitter apps you use today will still be usable tomorrow. The community you enjoy right now will still be with you for the foreseeable future. Yet reading the pronouncements, it's impossible not to realize that Twitter's plans for those apps and that community will change them, soon, and forever.

Last time Twitter foreshadowed changes to their policy, I made the analogy that it was like someone who's lover worked to put them through college, who was then dumped the day after graduation. With today's changes, Twitter seems to have gone from unappreciative to all out offensive. To put it in medieval terms, they've surrounded developers, walled them up, and seem intent on starving out traditional Twitter apps out.

That's feeling I get reading Twitter's new Changes coming in Version 1.1 of the Twitter API post on dev.twitter.com. Here's what will soon be required:

• All API calls will have to be authenticated. That's not a bad thing; it would cut down scraping and other potentially onerous activity.
• Rate limits on a per-endpoint basis. Right now Twitter limits API calls to 350 per hour, regardless of whether you're calling one API or all of them. Now each API will have its own rate-limit. If you call many, maybe it'll work out better for you. If you call only one, you'll be in trouble.

But they save the kicker for last:

• Changes to developer rules of the road. This is where Twitter once again urges Twitter app developers to no longer develop Twitter apps by increasing control of how these apps need to display data, and increasing the cap on how much data they can show. It essentially means no third party Twitter app could possibly grow big enough to support a significant portion of Twitter's still-growing user base.

The image of API calls standing in bread lines, desperate for their meager rations comes to mind, as does the image of people swallowing their favorite Twitter apps in a vain attempt to sneak them across the wall.

And as a longtime user of the service, it's that's how I feel when I read that they'd love to promote business tools like Dataminr and status markers like Klout, but want to marginalize Tweetbot and Twitterific. Or phrased the other way, they want to get rid of apps that are used by me, and facilitate apps that use me and my data. They want me mined and ranked, not empowered and engaged.

I understand that I, and many other early, geeky adopters, are no longer Twitter's user-base. They're mainstream now. They're filled with people who have almost no followers, follow hundreds of celebrities, and send almost not DMs. And I'm not Twitter's revenue stream. No user is. Like Google and Facebook, I'm the product they want to sell -- my metrics, my date, in aggregate -- as their revenue stream. I get that.

Yet it's still difficult to imagine that Twitter couldn't have gone about this in a different way. That they couldn't figure out a way to create and protect their own revenue streams and longterm plans without creating uncertainty for and the perception of hostility towards, the developers who were there with them from the beginning and helped them build the service they're now monetizing and positioning for the future.

Twitter uses these quadrants to say they want apps in the top and bottom left, and bottom right, but not the top right. By saying that, they're very literally saying they don't want anything that "engages consumers".

And it's difficult to imagine that a lot of people at Twitter, who love Twitter every bit as much as we geeks to, have ideas for doing just that. I hope the Powers that Be at Twitter pause, reflect, and reconsider, and then listen to those better ideas.

There has to be something other than "thou shalt make no Twitter clients before me."

Earlier today Apple apologized for, and reversed, a bone-headed, customer-hostile decision they'd made. Would that Twitter had their grace and insight.

I'd like to thank Craig Hockenberry and Gedeon Maheux and everyone at the Iconfactory for Twitterrific, and Loren Brichter of Atebits for Tweetie, and Paul Haddad and Mark Jardine of Tapbots for Tweetbot, and all the other developers who put time and money and blood into making better user experiences than Twitter themselves were capable of. It's appreciated, and I'm sure many will continue to use and enjoy your apps for absolutely as long as possible.

Apropos of nothing, you can find me on app.net @reneritchie and on Google+ +Rene Ritchie