Tweetie 2 For Mac "Not Not Happening", Developer Confirms

Pretty much since the launch of Tweetie 2 for the iPhone a year ago, it seems like everyone has been clamoring for a Tweetie 2 launch for Mac as well. The project was very much in the works, and then developer Loren Brichter, and his Tweetie franchise, were acquired by Twitter. As Brichter adjusted to his new role, and helped build both Twitter for iPhone and iPad, Tweetie 2 for Mac was put on the back-burner. But it has never been killed off. And it may yet be coming.

Interest in the topic was renewed recently when Twitter co-founder Evan Williams was taking questions on Twitter and answered one about Tweetie 2. “Tweetie for Mac is not something we’re actively investing in at this time,” he wrote. But read his words. He didn’t actually say it was dead, just that they’re not actively working on it right now. That’s in line with what I’ve been told in the past. But today, MacHeist director John Casasanta is saying that Brichter has told him work is actively ongoing — just slowly.

In fact, Casasanta says that Brichter has even brought in another developer to help him with the project since he’s so bogged down with Twitter work. This matters to Casasanta because exclusive beta access to Tweetie 2 for Mac was offered as a part of the most recent nanoBundle (a bundle of Mac software MacHeist sells from time to time at discount). Obviously, customers haven’t gotten access to that yet and they want to know why.

But for some people, Casasanta’s word isn’t good enough. They want to hear from Brichter himself. So he went ahead and tweeted a cryptic message about it today.

.@MacHeist I’d have far more confidence in a direct statement by @lorenb than the continued obfuscatory second- and third-hand scuttlebutt,” one Twitter user wrote. Brichter’s response? “@xwordy <direct statement>“.

Cute.

Last week, Brichter gave another vague update as well. When asked, “@lorenb Any news at all on Tweetie 2 for Mac? Even just to say ‘it’s not happening’ or something?” Brichter replied, “@tomhannibal it’s not not happening.

So there you have it. Tweetie 2 for Mac is not not happening. And that’s a direct statement from Brichter himself.

Update: Here’s Twitter’s statement on the matter:

We aren’t actively planning Tweetie for Mac 2, but we maintain the app for current users. For example, over the summer we updated the client to use OAuth and improved MagicMouse support. We also made the app available for free.