Loren Brichter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Loren Brichter
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Brichter in 2012
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| Born | November 15, 1984 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Tufts University |
| Occupation | Software developer |
| Known for | Tweetie, pull-to-refresh, Letterpress |
| Spouse(s) | Jean Whitehead |
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Loren Brichter, born on November 15, 1984, is an American computer programmer. He is famous for creating the app Tweetie and inventing a cool way to refresh apps called pull-to-refresh. After his company, Atebits, was bought by Twitter in 2010, he made a fun word game for iPhones and iPads called Letterpress.
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Becoming a Software Developer
Loren Brichter was born in Manhattan, New York, on November 15, 1984. His dad, Gabor Brichter, was a contractor. His mom, Christina Sidoti, worked in real estate and design.
Early Programming Steps
When Loren was in middle school, his teacher, Michael Tempel, showed him how to program using something called Logo. In high school, Loren became very interested in Cocoa, which is a set of tools for making Mac and iOS apps. He learned programming languages like C and Objective-C from his teacher, Chris Lehmann. He also learned about web programming.
College and First Job
Loren went to Tufts University to study computer science. He later changed his major to Electrical Engineering but still studied computer science. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
Before he graduated, Apple offered him a job. His family and girlfriend, Jean Whitehead, convinced him to finish college first. After graduating, he got another offer from Apple. This time, it was to work on the secret iPhone and iPad projects. He accepted the job and started his career there.
Loren's Career Journey
From 2006 to 2007, Loren worked at Apple. He was part of a small team that made sure the iPhone's graphics hardware (the parts that show images) and software worked together. He left Apple after the first iPhone was finished.
Starting Atebits
In 2007, Loren started his own company called Atebits. His first app was a drawing app for Mac computers called Scribbles. Then, in 2008, he released his second app, Tweetie. This is where he invented the famous pull-to-refresh action.
In the same year, Loren also helped start another company called Borange. In 2009, he won the Apple Designer of the Year award for his work.
Working at Twitter
From 2010 to 2011, Loren worked for Twitter. This happened after Twitter bought his app Tweetie and his company, Atebits.
After Twitter
In November 2011, Loren left Twitter. He then started a new company, but he used the same name as his first one: Atebits. In 2012, this new Atebits released a word game app called Letterpress. The game was later sold to another company, Solebon, in early 2016. The name Letterpress came from how players press letters with their fingers in the game.
After his time at Twitter, Loren also helped with an app Facebook was making called Facebook Paper. He worked on new gestures and ideas for that project. Today, Loren advises a few companies and spends most of his time working on his own projects.
About Atebits
Loren first started Atebits by himself in 2007. This company was later sold to Twitter in 2010. After Loren left Twitter in 2012, he started a brand new company with the exact same name.
- Scribbles: Atebits' first app was Scribbles, released in 2007. It was a simple drawing app for Mac computers. It was inspired by an old drawing program called MacPaint. Scribbles allowed users to draw and share their art.
- Tweetie: In 2008, Atebits released Tweetie, an app for using Twitter on iPhones. Tweetie for Mac computers came out in 2009.
After Loren restarted Atebits, the company released Letterpress in 2012. Letterpress is a word game where players connect through Apple's Game Center. Loren's wife was the first person to test the game, and the rules changed based on her feedback.
About Tweetie
Tweetie was launched in 2008. It was created because there wasn't an official Twitter app for the iPhone yet. Loren also released Tweetie for Mac in April 2009. Twitter bought both versions of Tweetie a year later.
About Borange
In 2008, Loren founded Borange with Mason Lee and Martin Turon. They created two apps:
- Borange: This app helped users see what their friends were doing.
- Textie: This was a free messaging app for mobile phones.
Both apps were released before features like push notifications or iMessage existed, so they filled a need for people to connect.
Loren's Personal Life
Loren Brichter is married to Jean Whitehead. They have three children together.
Cool Ways to Interact with Apps
Loren Brichter is known for inventing several clever ways people interact with apps on their phones and computers.
Pull-to-refresh
Loren created the pull-to-refresh gesture. It first appeared in Tweetie 2.0 for iPhone. This gesture lets you pull down on a screen and then let go to refresh the page. Before this, you usually had to tap a refresh button. Many apps on mobile devices use this gesture now, like the Mail app on iPhones.
Cell Swipe
Cell Swipe was also created by Loren and used in Tweetie. This gesture involves swiping a section of the screen (called a "cell") to the side. This reveals hidden buttons or features. For example, in apps like Tweetbot, swiping a tweet can show options to retweet or reply.
Sliding Panels
The idea of sliding panels first appeared in Loren's design for Twitter on the iPad. These panels would slide in horizontally. They created layers of information, like tweets or profiles. This allowed users to explore more details while easily going back to where they were. Other apps, like the mobile Facebook and Spotify apps, now use similar sliding panels.
Vertical List Icons
Besides gestures, Loren also introduced vertical list icons. These first appeared in Tweetie for Mac 1.0. This design places a vertical list of icons along the side of the screen. These icons let users switch between different parts of the app. Apps like Slack and Tweetbot use this design today.
