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Ask DLS: best desktop Facebook client?
Today I tried doing something which seemed really simple at first glance: I set out to get a list of Facebook status updates on my desktop. Just the updates. No pictures, no pokes, no Farmville. I kind of wanted to be able to post replies, but that wasn't super-important.
And after spending quite a bit of time, I simply couldn't find anything worthy. I found Seesmic and TweetDeck. Beautiful looking applications, each taking over 100MB of RAM. Woah. Then I thought, "there must be a Windows 7 Gadget for something like this!". Looking through the (really lame) gadget gallery, I did find a few Facebook gadgets but they were all really lame. At this point I was so desperate I even tried installing the FriendBar Firefox add-on, which was just as cruddy I feared it would be.
And I know Microsoft has that Silverlight client which is supposed to be very cool, but again, it's a memory hog and total overkill for what I need. I just want to see the status updates scrolling on my desktop -- no more, no less. And I don't want it to take over 30MB of RAM.
At this point I turn to you, dear readers. I'm looking for something which is Windows-native, minimalistic, and actually works.
Any suggestions?
Comments
35
Subscribe to commentsJesse WilkinsFeb 22nd 2010 3:12PM
How about your friendly neighborhood RSS reader? Haven't played with FB + RSS a lot, but I thought I saw that it supports outputting the stream to RSS. Then you consume in your fave lightweight RSS reader (iGoogle Reader widget for me; YMMV).
Cheers,
jesse
RichardFeb 23rd 2010 4:33AM
Facebook have stopped offering RSS feeds for your stream - which was a shame as that and the RSS widget for your desktop was the best solution.
GIJeffFeb 22nd 2010 3:14PM
Doesn't Trillian do that?
do.ronFeb 22nd 2010 3:35PM
Yea Pidgin does as well, but some people like to over complicate things.
Erez ZukermanFeb 22nd 2010 5:04PM
Trillian does many, many other things. And so does Pidgin. I'm looking for just this one simple thing...
JBFeb 22nd 2010 8:28PM
Yes, but Trillian doesn't HAVE to do all those other things. If you only enable the Facebook plugin, that's all it will do.
chronoFeb 22nd 2010 3:16PM
For Mac, you have Desktop Notifications, which can be found in the prototype apps section of the apps directory on Facebook. It works great and isn't a memory hog.
TimFeb 22nd 2010 3:29PM
Fishbowl (http://www.fishbowlclient.com/) came to mind first. i cant recall how big it is or its thirst for memory, but i dont remember it being very imposing. i prefer actual facebook.com to desktop clients which is why i dont use it anymore.
chat on the other hand, is another story. gotta use a client for that.
Erez ZukermanFeb 22nd 2010 5:05PM
Fishbowl is that Silverlight thing. I actually installed it based on your recommendation, but it's far too heavy for me. I don't want to see a profile picture next to each update...
But thanks for the tip! :)
Jason DashFeb 23rd 2010 6:55AM
Fishbowl ISN'T that Silverlight thing actually, it's built in WPF.
The Silverlight client for Facebook looks a lot nicer and is actually far more lightweight (unfortunately WPF apps aren't really suited to the idea of being "lightweight")
You can find the really quick install here: http://www.silverlight.net/content/samples/apps/facebookclient/sfcquickinstall.aspx
JasonDashFeb 23rd 2010 7:13AM
Ok, I take that back, the WPF Fishbowl app appears much lighter here, only takes up 16MB, whereas "Silverlight For Facebook Client" takes nearly 70MB, but certain I think it looks better than fishbowl =/
TimFeb 24th 2010 2:03AM
I agree. Fishbowl tries too hard to make it look attractive, to the point where it becomes uncanny. thats the main reason i stopped using it.
NKLVFeb 22nd 2010 3:47PM
For a Mac you can use Geek Tool, with the following UNIX script: (described on the Flickr page showcasing it):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24907007@N08/3409438091/
moosetogaFeb 22nd 2010 3:48PM
Digsby. It uses about 60-90 MB depending on how many services you're running with it, but that's just the thing - for well under 100 MB I'm managing my Gmail, Google Chat, Facebook (chat and news feed), three Twitter profiles, LinkedIn, and two AIM profiles. I've used it for years and it keeps getting better.
eFeb 22nd 2010 10:01PM
they don't like disby much here in DLS i think
ShawnFeb 22nd 2010 4:30PM
Sobees Lite: Facebook and Twitter in one.
Erez ZukermanFeb 22nd 2010 5:06PM
Wow Shawn! That looks fantastic! Testing it right now.
wtcshawnlaneFeb 22nd 2010 5:21PM
Digsby. Using 80 MB with Facebook and Facebook chat, twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and MySpace Chat, Gmail, Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger.
PonTelonFeb 22nd 2010 7:06PM
I use Tweetdeck, sorry. But I've used Pidgin for the same thing before. I just prefer Tweetdeck's Growl-like pop-ups.
setFeb 22nd 2010 7:31PM
Digsby is great.