What is Digg?115 Comments
- digitalpencil, on 10/25/2008, -2/+57i didn't realize how many app launchers are out there that i'm never going to use..
Quicksilver FTW! - Jibberwalk, on 10/26/2008, -1/+37I haven't really found any reason to go above and beyond my dock or spotlight. They both seem pretty sufficient.
- TheGreatBelow, on 10/26/2008, -5/+31Quicksilver > *
- infernal6, on 10/26/2008, -2/+23I just use spotlight for everything... don't see any reason to use anything else really....
- djvchris, on 10/26/2008, -1/+22Spotlight FTW. My dock is empty except for open applications and trash.
- macaca, on 10/25/2008, -0/+18Now only if I can get that lusciously beautiful waterfall wallpaper. If any of my digg friends can help me, thx in advance.
- Cronikeys, on 10/26/2008, -0/+16I agree. Using Spotlight (Command + Space Bar) and then typing in what I want to open usually works in less than a second. Also I can use it for definitions and calculations. It really is one of the most underused and useful OS X features.
- ubermorph, on 10/26/2008, -2/+15You don't have to click at all to use an app launcher like Quicksilver.
- timusca, on 10/25/2008, -5/+17I don't understand the point of app launchers honestly... I'm not trying to be snide, but what's wrong with just putting the app folder in your dock and setting it to "List" view when clicked? Its built-in and is the fastest way I know to launch docks without using any extra RAM to do it.
Am I missing something? - Callidus, on 10/26/2008, -0/+9A friend suggested Quicksilver and I started using that, then I realized Spotlight does the same thing, any reason for me to use Quicksilver over Spotlight if I just want to launch apps that I'd normally have on the Dock?
- jasmus, on 10/26/2008, -0/+7spotlight is great for this. I've only jsut recently started, but now if I want to run something not on my doc (eg. iphoto), I just command+space, type "ipho" and press enter
- unique172, on 10/26/2008, -0/+7Erm, how about just Cmd+Space?
- interdeets, on 10/26/2008, -0/+7I persevered with the extra 5-10 seconds disk activity at login with QuickSilver for over 2 years, having disabled Spotlight as soon as I got my first Mac on recommendation of a Mac guy. Out of curiosity I didn't install QuickSilver on the last Mac I got, and loe and behold it turns out Spotlight is actually much handier.
* No noticeable delay at login.
* No noticeable disk activity while performing searches.
* Present on every Mac by default.
* Has a sensible, non-retarded UI (if you reply suggesting the QuickSilver interface is intuitive or innovative I will hunt you down and stab you).
* Does one thing well, rather than a million gadgety "omg I'm learning objective C look what I made mom" things poorly. - vault, on 10/25/2008, -0/+6I used to use Quicksilver and loved it...but I switched to Launchbar last year and I can tell you it's awesome, fast, powerful, and worth paying for. The search template system is so incredibly easy to use and flexible.
- tetsuo29, on 10/26/2008, -0/+6I have to agree with this. I used to use Quicksilver, but, found myself annoyed when using a friend's Mac and it wasn't already installed. So, once Spotlight was release (OS X 10.4, Tiger), I gave up Quicksilver and used Spotlight instead. Tiger's Spotlight was good enough. You usually had to arrow down once to highlight the application that you wanted to launch. Leopard's Spotlight is perfect. It highlights the app automatically, no more arrowing down once. It's built in and doesn't seem to eat up additional system resources at the rate Quicksilver did. (Quicksilver used to be a bit of a resource hog, I don't know if that's improved since I haven't used it in a few years). Spotlight is one of those things in OS X that is just so damn cool that once you get used to using it, you can't imagine how you used to use a computer without it. Much like Time Machine, Apple is not doing enough to evangelize it.
- BanzaiMan, on 10/26/2008, -0/+5Some people prefer the keyboard to the mouse. You'll have to spend some time navigating to the desired app, and if you do that enough times, you'll waste quite a lot of time.
- snagra, on 10/26/2008, -0/+5The dock can be hidden, you can set it to hide when your mouse is pointed away.
- DelMonte, on 10/26/2008, -0/+5You're missing the fact that some apps have to be in a sub-folder, so you actually have to navigate to the folder while in the Application dock menu, then you have to navigate to the app itself within the sub-folder.
- 3Den, on 10/26/2008, -0/+5Quicksilver is even faster, and adaptive, giving you instant keyboard acces to anything.
Hmm... example, how about
Keychain Access. I don't use this daily, or weekly, but I use it often enough. There is no reason to have it typing up a lost in my dock (The less stuff in your dock, the easier it is to use)
So I want keychain - I forgot a password. ctrl-space, k, enter. Done. As fast as I can type it. It's down to just a K because that's the only object starting with a K that I usually launh."
THen I need my notes file. I know I can open finder, go to docs, and it's right there.. but I can also hit
ctrl-space, no, enter, and It's up. - BossKey, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4Ever since I assigned F12 to Spotlight, Quicksilver is not that much better at application launching. Spotlight does in fact learn which program I tend to select the most after I type just an "f" (that would be Firefox).
I have used Quicksilver. It's smarter and does much more. It has more application and document launching options. But I made a decision about the feature gain versus the additional system overhead of yet another app that indexes in the background, and I decided Spotlight had gotten fast enough in Leopard (not so much in Tiger). But if you do need the things Quicksilver does that Spotlight can't, hey, that's cool. - zwei, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4Spotlight does work fine ..but it has a drawback. If you have an external hard drive that spins down it will wake the drive up every time you search. Not only does this wear on the drive, but it also takes some time before you can start searching. Quicksilver it is...
- sensualnapes, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4I'm personally a fan of putting the apps folder as a stack on the dock then set it to always open as a grid. no need to install extra crap.
- Gm7Cadd9, on 10/26/2008, -0/+4under the privacy settings of spotlight you can specify places for spotlight not to look or index.
- infernal6, on 10/26/2008, -1/+5I am not sure it is really faster, or less clicking. I just cmd+ space, hit a couple of letters then enter in spotlight... no clicking at all.
Spotlight also "learns from your actions" in that it is more likely to show results from commonly used programs. - Kelmon, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3Whatever. Since Leopard was released with the changes to Spotlight there has been little need for a separate application to launch applications. Prior to this I used to use Quicksilver but now I find little need for it and therefore I do not install it or others.
- jeriqo, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3Your life must be very boring...
- kashem, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3Yeah, actually it's much faster since 10.5, to the point where I stopped using Quicksilver.
That's not the only reason why I stopped though -- it was having a heck of a time with Time Machine and Spaces (read: crash), and after finding out Alcor abandoned it was good enough for me to leave it.
Quicksilver is extremely powerful, but if you're using it only for application launching, then Spotlight should be fine for a modern mac. - Gm7Cadd9, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3I love seeing the entire Master Collection CS3 bundle in someone's dock... clearly pirated, clearly the user absolutely needs: Adobe Stock Photos in their dock. They also need quick access to all of the final cut apps because the serious video editor edits on airplanes and at starbucks, and they need YOU to know that.
In actuality I am impressed with a bare bones dock, bonus points for having terminal in the dock. - maxwashere, on 10/26/2008, -0/+3I keep all my applications in my applications folder, and there's a stack for that on my dock.
- waxcrash, on 10/26/2008, -2/+5Screw these launchers. I like to put EVERY application on my computer in the dock so when I show a friend something on my laptop screen or when I'm at a coffee shop and someone walks by and sees the screen, they think, "Wow that dude must be a computer genius because he uses all those applications."
- lucian303, on 10/26/2008, -2/+5QuickSilver has changed my life...
- btschul, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2I have a ton of apps, and I keep the ones I use the most on the dock, and I have a stack on the dock for the rest. But because I have so many apps the stack can't show them all, so I end up having to navigate to the actual applications folder to launch any apps that are above "p" when sorted by name. At least I did until I got an app launcher.
- fuknuck, on 10/26/2008, -2/+4This is a poor article. It is poorly written and not proofread at all. None of the apps are compared to one another. Also, the summaries are so short that it is very hard to get any real sense of which app is best for you.
no digg - iamnot, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2Truth.
Launchbar got me to switch from quicksilver. They even got me to pay them to let me.
Fabulous. - MiddleOfNowhere, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2There is a predictive model in HCI called the steering law, based on something else called Fitt's law. Long story short: Moving to and clicking an object on screen will probably take more time than pressing a key combination (which, admittedly, you have to learn). We are only talking about fractions of a second here, but it adds up.
Now the beauty of QuickSilver (haven't tried the other launchers) is that ...
a) it prioritizes apps you use more often. When you launch QS and press "F, it may suggest the Finder. Once you have selected "Firefox" instead, this app will bubble to the top, so the next time you can open it right away. Since QS can do the same with all your bookmarks (I have thousands), you can launch the desired app/URL/document in very short time without navigating folders, reading lists of names or trying to remember what a particular icon stood for.
b) QS allows you to string things together. You can select a file in a folder and send it to a person from your address book without ever touching the mouse. If you learn even a few of its many tricks, you will save a lot of time. - spdorsey, on 10/25/2008, -1/+3No finderpop?!?!
I've been using it since OS8. It's GREAT. And it's free.
www.finderpop.com
And no, I don't have any connection with Turly, the app's author. - tetsuo29, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2Yes! Thank you for pointing that out. Spotlight as a calculator is one of those little touches that is awesome. Computers should have had something like this from day 1.
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -1/+3quicksilver was pretty much gospel for Tiger - but as every one else has mentioned - leopard spotlight is pretty freakin' fast for application launching. Now, yes QS does a lot more than spotlight, but you also have to sacrifice some stability on 10.5
- cadmiumpaint, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2thats what i do. i only keep a small handful in the dock, and only have apps installed that i'll use.
- gr00vy, on 10/26/2008, -4/+6Wow, "most"??? I am willing to bet that it is barely many. "Most" Mac users use what came, and extend slightly with things like Office and a game or 2. "Most" Mac users definitely do not expand past the use of the doc and don't read Digg. Most Mac users don't use firefox or thunderbird. And most mac users definitely do no use application launchers.
- ju1i3andcandy, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2If you can't Command + Spacebar then type in the name of your app and hit enter, you are one lazy *****.
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2If you're simply trying to replace one behaviour (launching) from Spotlight with the same behaviour by using another app, then you're missing the point. Yes, spotlight is perfectly capable of doing the one thing it was designed for. But Quicksilver can do much more than free you from clicking on icons.
I've set it up to launch apps with mouse gestures. fn-mouseup takes less time to do than it does to say in your head. So pick your top 8 apps and map them to the compass directions. I also control itunes with quicksilver. Use it to ftp, email and zip much quicker than before. Productivity nerds such as myself can appreciate the clipboard shelf. I find new features all the time that I wonder how I lived without in the past. - BossKey, on 10/26/2008, -1/+3Good list but how could they leave out LaunchBar, Quicksilver's arch rival.
- inactive, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2lol thats the first thing I thought when I view the page, good call. Anyone found it yet?
- foomojive, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2ditto! I used to be a quicksilver-holic until leopard. now i use spotlight for application launching, finding items, etc. it's just as fast if not faster, and it's actually stable. i had a lot of problems with quicksilver crashing or hanging. i still keep quicksilver on but since i found gimmesometune i hardly ever use it now except for itunes growl alerts with the jewel case style. i downloaded the most recent build of QS though that disables keyboard shortcuts, so i don't use it for those any more either.
zen desktop is awesome now. dock only shows open apps, downloads go to the download folder so empty desktop, no menubar apps. aaaaaaah. - Weaselboy, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2+1 Made the same switch a year ago. Launchbar is much more stable and you don't have to mess with all the plugins.
- RMoore08, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2Sapiens is bad A dude...
- Dotcommer, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2Sapiens will change your life. Seriously. Try it out for 7 days. I don't use a dock anymore because of it.
- jeriqo, on 10/26/2008, -0/+2Are you stuck on 10.1?
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