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  Twihrl, a desktop client of Twitter, has updated its support for another micro blogging service, Identi.ca (better known as federated twitter clone). The service has also incorporated much awaited communication method i-e “push updates”.

Identi.ca had already implemented Twitter’s API last week and it was expected that this move will surely help it to capture Twitter’s clients. The new feature will directly push updates from Identi.ca’s server without explicitly pinging it making Twhirl more flexible and lively. This will be a boon to users as they can have real time updates without hovering  over the update button. While it will unload the unwanted profile traffic on identi.ca server as it will not be hitting by Twihrl after every few minutes.

Identi.ca’s push capability some what sounds highly complex as it has adopted two step updates sending technique instead of sending them directly to the twitter desktop. It do so by sending updates to Google Talk( the open XMPP standard IM Jabber based platform) and these XMPP messages are than sent to User’s computers via Twihrl client. This will be a cumbersome process for users as it requires two logins for identi.ca as well as for Google account.

You can download the new version of Twhirl here.

How to Configure it?

• Login with your GTalk ID by going to the IM tab  in the identi.ca site.
• Remember to check the “Send me notices through GTalk” box in preferences.
• Login to your Twhirl account and open the identi.ca’s configuration panel.
• In the Network Tab, go to the “XMPP Settings” box and enter your Gmail ID and you are ready to enjoy the new and better version.

The “push updates” feature was highly demanded by majority of Twitter users and identi.ca has gained numbers by implementing it before an overwhelmed Twitter whale. Though Twitter already supports the XMPP standards, but it is yet not open for everyone except for the Summize, Twittervision, Friendfeed and Zappos (the companies that are lucky enough to gain twitter’s favour).

Although identi.ca is an open source service, Twitter is still ruling the micro blogging world because of its scalable User base. Therefore, there still lies great scope for Twitter and it can genuinely work with Twihrl to cater its users’ needs by  making itself more reliable and consistent.