When I launched the app and refreshed my timeline I found a new working “Slot Machine” addition. Below are two screen shots of this little Easter Egg of sorts, and below my screen shots is the full Mashable article on the acquisition of Tweetie.

Twitter has just announced that it has acquired Atebits, the company behind the popular Tweetie iPhone app and Mac desktop application.

Tweetie’s creator, Loren Brichter, will be joining the Twitter team as well. The app will be renamed “Twitter for iPhone” and be made free in the next few weeks. Twitter CEO Evan Williams explained the move in a blog post:

“We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve entered into an agreement with Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) to acquire Tweetie, a leading iPhone Twitter client. Tweetie will be renamed Twitter for iPhone and made free (currently $2.99) in the iTunes AppStore in the coming weeks. Loren will become a key member of our mobile team that is already having huge impact with device makers and service providers around the world.”

Twitter also specifically mentions that an official Twitter iPad app is indeed coming: “Developers, services, and publishers will be able to leverage the Twitter iPhone and iPad applications to create additional innovative tools and integrations for users,” Williams said in today’s announcement.

The move comes less than a week after a controversial blog post from Twitter investor Fred Wilson, Principal of Union Square Ventures. In it, Wilson explained that he is looking for Twitter apps to not fill holes in the Twitter platform (e.g. photo sharing, mobile apps) and instead focus on innovative products and “killer apps.” The post caught the attention of developers, who feared that Twitter itself would begin competing with their applications.

(Los Angeles, CA, March 25, 2010) On the occasion of its one-year anniversary, Grindr, the largest all-male mobile location-based networking service, is sharing a very special gift with the mobile community. Today, the groundbreaking service proudly announces the new Grindr app for BlackBerry which will bring the innovative social networking application that has signed up over half a million iPhone and iPod touch users over the course of the past year to BlackBerry users around the world.

Initially, only 5,000 downloads of the new Grindr BlackBerry app will be made available for beta testing to BlackBerry users. So for those BlackBerry fans out there who have been anxious to get in on the craze that has been creating major buzz from Tokyo and Australia to every major city in the United States and Europe, now’s your chance to join the Grindr revolution.

Just as with the Grindr iPhone app, Grindr for BlackBerry uses GPS and cellular technologies to deliver the profiles, photos, and information of users just feet away within seconds which makes connecting with gay, bi and curious guys a snap, no matter where in the world you happen to find yourself.

To sign up to beta test Grindr BlackBerry, go to www.GrindrBerry.com and become one of the first exclusive Grindr BlackBerry users.

Supported devices for the Grindr BlackBerry app include: Bold 9000 and 9700, Curve 8300, Curve 8310, Curve 8320, Curve 8330, Curve 8350, Curve 8350i, Curve 8520, Curve 8530, Curve 8900 and the Tour 9630.

Grindr

For all you iPhone and iTouch users out there who are fans of (or at least familiar with) the Grindr app, it is no longer in the Apple App Store. I noticed early this afternoon via Joe.My.God that people were reporting that the Gay Social App known as Grindr was no longer in the App Store. I went to take a look myself and indeed “Grindr” or the paid “Grindr X” are neither in the app store any longer. The app is still functional for those using it but no longer available for download. Is this an act of homophobia on Apple’s part? Why would the app have been pulled? There is no further information on the Grindr website, Twitter feed, or Facebook page. Joel Simkhai, founder of Grindr, has issued no statement as of yet.

Update: Grindr is once again available for download in the iTunes App Store. So the question now is was it a publicity stunt?

Queerty.com is reporting that Joel Simkhai has contacted them stating “Error on my part. Should be back up by EOD today.”.

The current functionality does allow the user to copy a URL from Safari then paste it into a tweet and use the ow.ly shrinking button to shrink the URL so it can be tracked using Hootsuite; what it does not provide is a Safari bookmarklet for easier URL shortening straight from the iPhone’s browser. I have figured out a way to do just that and would love to share the process for those interested. There are a few steps and it’s really not overly complicated.

1) Make sure you have added Hootsuite’s “Hootlet” to your browser of choice on your PC, laptop, etc. & make sure you are logged into HootSuite.

2) Once added, right click the “Hootlet” and from the menu choose Properties.

3) You will see in the Location field the address used for the Hootlet. Copy the entire string and email it to yourself so you can access it from your iPhone.

4) Open the email with the java string from your iPhone and copy the entire address then open Safari. From Safari, open HootSuite’s homepage.

5) Bookmark the page (this will only be a placekeeper)

6) After you have added the HootSuite bookmark choose “Edit” from the Safari bookmark menu. Change the Bookmarklet name to “Hootlet” (to avoid confusion), delete the current URL and paste the java string you copied previously into the address line. Tap Done to save.

At this point the bookmarklet is complete so let’s test it:

1) Open a new page in Safari on your iPhone and navigate to any site you’d like.

2) From the site you navigated to, tap the bookmark icon in Safari and choose your newly created “Hootlet”

3) This will open a new page (you may need to log in the first time using your HootSuite credentials) that looks just like the typical “Hootlet” “Create New Message” window.

4) Make any adjustments you want, choose the social network to update and send.

This will allow the iPhone users of Hootsuite to streamline the entire process of posting from Safari.

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

SEATTLE — Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs was paid his customary $1 annual salary in 2009, but Apple’s strength through a rough economic climate returned the value of his personal holdings in the company to pre-meltdown levels.

Jobs does not get a bonus or reimbursement for perks many other CEOs accept, such as personal security, according to a regulatory filing made Wednesday. Apple said it reimbursed Jobs $4,000 for company travel on his $90 million Gulfstream V jet, which he received as a bonus in 1999.

That’s far less than the $871,000 Apple reimbursed Jobs in 2008. The CEO took nearly six months off in 2009 for medical leave, during which time he received a liver transplant. He returned to work at the company’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters part-time at the end of June.

Jobs, 54, holds 5.5 million shares of Apple’s stock. He has not sold any shares since he rejoined the company in 1997, nor has he been awarded any new equity since 2003.

Continue for full story…

Does your significant other always yell at you for busting out your smartphone too much when you’re together? Follow this flowchart to determine if now really is a good time to fire that brick up:

Based in New York City, Shane Snow is a graduate student in Digital Media at Columbia University and founder of Scordit.com. He’s fascinated with all things geeky, particularly social media and shiny gadgets he’ll never afford.

Its not a princess, its a robot. A phone that trades hair-do for can-do. In a world of doesnt. Droid Does.