I pretty much agree with this statement, with respect to the work that was put into Alert Thingy. - Vince DeGeorge

"The browser" is not a push technology, Louis. The browser requires you to interrupt what you're doing, load friendfeed, READ IT, see if there are any items you like or want to comment on, and THEN post. With AlertThingy you get an update when someone does something, and you can instantly make the decision about whether you want to bother with it right now. (via Alert Thingy) - Adam Posey

I disagree. The browser is limiting. The point is to expand and improve the experience. Example: Twhirl (via Alert Thingy) - Bwana ☠

cos its annoying to have web applications hidden away in browser tabs? - Samuel Bostock

Adam yeah right, as if I would need even more interruption. The browser does not interrupt me but is at my deposition when I request it to reload. Additionally, with the web browser, I have an easier time deciding if I want to follow up on discussions or not, have hiding available (including items with comments) and more. So when you ask this general question, you get this general answer. Every person is different, but for me, Alerthingy is just an annoyance. - Nicole Simon

When any kind of technology is designed to PUSH information to us, we typically use applications to bring it to us in an easy way. Twhirl, RSS readers, SMS updates, email notifications, etc. The end goal is to get information to us more easily and AlertThingy does that very well. (via Alert Thingy) - Adam Posey

friendfeed/twitter are applications as in I interact with them. I want to use the browser, to browse! (via Alert Thingy) - Adnan

Adam, point taken, which is why I did install it, but online use it as a popup notifier, nothing more. Bwana, Alert Thingy actually limits my experience. Because it limits it only to my "friends" tab. I check "everyone" quite often. It's not a "bad" app, but far from necessary. - Vince DeGeorge

Yes. And there is a limit for evey person of what they want to be pushed to them - be it designed for that or not. You prefer such an app, I prefer the browser. Or let me rephrase that: I do not mind an app as long as it is configurable to what I consider to be a good way of pushing information to me. - Nicole Simon

Vince, Alert Thingy's shortcomings are irrelevant. They can be fixed. It doesn't take away from the fact that a desktop client can greatly enhance the experience. You shouldn't expect version 1.0 to do everything you want. (via Alert Thingy) - Bwana ☠

Uh, except it's a client app, and stuff pops into your awareness instead of having to go find it. (via Alert Thingy) - Stowe Boyd

I'm trying to see what's wrong with having a choice. If the entire FriendFeed world was supposed to be in the browser, why even bother with an API? (via Alert Thingy) - Bwana ☠

Absolutely nothing wrong with having choice and I don't think anyone thinks that Alert Thingy is a bad thing, but some of us just don't get the "why." I just find the web access sufficient for how I use FF. - Vince DeGeorge

i'm not interested in taking up more of my screen just for FriendFeed -- i'll use the browser when I want to check in (via Alert Thingy) - Shey, Jamaican of FF

Is this not the same thing as saying "What's the point of RSS feeds since you can just go to the website"? Being able to interact with FriendFeed without visiting the site cuts down on time and creates a more immersive experience. (via Alert Thingy) - Brandon Titus

I think one of the primary problems here is the baiting way in which Louis' twitter post was written. "Alert thingy isn't for me because:" would have been a much more benign way of phrasing it. (via Alert Thingy) - Adam Posey

Exactly Adam. If you ask me, the phrasing came across as very Duncan Riley'ish. "Why is this product X getting so much attention, when I can already do this with product Y" I have a feeling Louis is not as closed minded as Duncan can be, but this post doesn't support that claim. - Bwana ☠

Whether baiting or not, this is getting the answers we were looking for, right? - Louis Gray

I prefer FriendFeed via the browser, but AlertThingy may appeal to people who like desktop apps. I don't like 'em. - Mike Reynolds

Louis just asked a question, and you answered it. ;) I agree with Mike, it''s a matter of taste; I also prefer the browser. - Alejandro

So the end justifies the means? Bad form sir. (via Alert Thingy) - Bwana ☠

I currently have 14 tabs open and I can only look at one of them at a time. I'm a multi-tasker and I like to have things in front of me instead of switching between tabs all the time. Now if only I could get a sidebar for OS X so all this stuff would be nice and neat in one place (and no I don't mean hidden away in the dashboard). - EricaJoy

Although AlertThingy is full of shortcoming, but I think it will get better soon. (via Alert Thingy) - terababy

Louis, you're getting an argument with the occasional post from someone who can fence-sit and appear to be objective. I understand that it's boring to just say what you think in a way that doesn't make people angry enough to comment, but it certainly would have been possible to skip straight to the constructive comments and leave out the harsh-tone. - Adam Posey

"This is just stupid. Why do we need a FF desktop app if we have the browser?" THAT would have been harsh, IMO. - Alejandro

I think it's a good first step, but not ready for primetime yet. I'm sticking to the web for now. - Sarah Perez

Because I don't like keeping open a Friendfeed tab in Firefox. Firefox is slow enough if you're not using the beta and this is a more streamlined way of getting Friendfeed updates. (via Alert Thingy) - Corvida

So while I won't comment specifically re: Alert Thingy... a push client is necessary. Using "autoRefresher.start(300 * 1000);" in Javascript or hitting F5 in a browser for updates is barbaric :) - Mark Krynsky

I've decided to keep AlertThingy installed b/c it it gives me an alerty-thingy alert when something new happens. - Mike Reynolds

Corvida is spot on, Firefox performs better with fewer tabs open, plus alerts a nice to have for flow apps like Twitter and FF (via Alert Thingy) - Jake Kuramoto

Can I just say that what has me hating Alert Thingy without even having installed it is that annoying "via Alert Thingy" after every comment? Get rid of the advertising spam, and we'll talk. - Shannon Jiménez

oh come on, shannon. they're not allowed to self promote? every twitter post has a via snitter, via twhirl, via web, via text. what's the diff? (via Alert Thingy) - Sarah is Novembery

I don't use twitter, but, yes, I would find that annoying too. Who cares where the comment comes from? - Shannon Jiménez

look, it's a free app. i think they deserve to get some self promotion in there somewhere. it's not like a huge, glaring print ad. *shrug* - doesn't bother me. (via Alert Thingy) - Sarah is Novembery

@Shannon Jimenez I'm with Sarah Velo on this one. It's not spammy in the least if you ask me, because it's not in your face nor is it linking back to the original website. It's promotion and there's nothing wrong with that. - Corvida

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one :) After reading "via Alert Thingy" approximately 8000 times today I've developed quite a bit of animosity toward the product. I think they should attract users through merit, not through meaningless comment attachments (not to mention the fact that, in my case at least, reading the phrase has had the opposite of the intended reaction). - Shannon Jiménez

I like how Twitter handles service attribution, though it adds clutter. One option that might be nice is if '(via Alert Thingy)' were automatically inserted into the comment field as the user composes their comment, so if they choose they could edit it out, or if it was a pref. This is analogous to the iPhone's default 'Sent from my iPhone' email sig. It's there by default, but doesn't force itself as a condition of using the product. - Kevin Fox

Kevin's idea is good. I still like the idea of a Twitter-style tag. It wouldn't bug me so much if it were <small>ed. Mock-up || Comment text. - Voyagerfan5761 - via Alert Thingy || with the latter three words small and grayed so as to be more unobtrusive. - Voyagerfan5761

FriendFeed shares, if they're interesting, require a browser to fulfill, no? So I don't see the utility of a desktop app over the browser. That's not even to mention the UI disasters of Alert Thingy itself. Conversely, tweets can be, and often are, self-contained in a formal sense. - Rick Powell

There's so many things the website does that the API doesn't support yet. Use the website. Use firefox. Grab some scripts to add functionality: http://ffapps.com - engtech

but twitter does it with the clients in a way your brain knows "stop reading, advertisement here" which is not what it does here (because it suggests normal text which you should pay attention to). For me the fact that you cannot turn it off is an annoyance in any kind of application. @kevin in the regard from sending from a mobile, there is a value in knowing it came from mobile. As for api - you can do more than just a reading client with it ... - Nicole Simon

having been really enjoying twhirl for twitter I for one welcome alert thingy to the game - not that they are the same service - but having twhirl open on my second screen is sure nicer then having twitter buried in a tab - the same goes for friendfeed. (via Alert Thingy) - ben rogers

I like Alert Thingy for a number of reasons. Firstly, I tend to open a number of tabs while I browse. I dislike having friendfeed (or twitter for that matter) buried deep within my firefox tabs. Secondly, I think popup notifications of new items is quite useful. Finally, I think the desktop app looks sexy :-) (via Alert Thingy) - David Adam

I didn't get it either - thought I was the only one. I can do more on the web too - so what is the point of this app other than it looks cool in screen shots and bloggers wrote about it? - Wayne Schulz

Louis, I guess it's nice to have because it's one less tab to have open in my browser - there are too many open there as it is. Guess it's really just a personal preference thing. You are right, there really isn't anything new here, other than another demonstration of what Adobe AIR can be used for. Still I'm finding it useful to run side-by-side with Twhirl. (via Alert Thingy) - Rick Mahn

Restart your copies of AlertThingy v1.1 is here! ...via AlertThingy - Jeremy Baines

All the people who are desktop app vs web browser. Check out http://ffapps.com . There are tons of more features available via Firefox scripts that you won't get in a desktop app. - engtech

so 1.1 allows you to have an opaque window... anything else? ...via AlertThingy - Samuel Bostock