The Fickle Parrot

Quicksilver is one of the most useful and interesting applications I’ve used, and has changed my expectations for computer interfaces. It is a freeware MacOS X only application that I currently use as an application launcher. I haven’t even scratched the surface of it’s potential uses yet, but even for my simplistic tasks it makes a huge difference. It hides in the background, and pops up with a specifiable key combination. Once Quicksilver is activated, one simply begins typing, and Quicksilver uses an autocomplete method to guess what application or file on one’s computer one is looking for. Once found (usually after 2-4 letters) hit enter, then either the application launches, or the file opens.

The crucial thing for me is that Quicksilver pops up with a key combination. Using MacOS X 10.4 means that I already have a great indexed search utility built in with Apple’s Spotlight (which can also function as an application launcher), but it just doesn’t feel as accessible.

I’ve come to enjoy using Quicksilver so much, that I miss it when I’m using Windows. I’ve tried to find an application that mimics Quicksilver, but it doesn’t appear that such an application exists. So far I’ve found a workable solution with Google Desktop. If you have it configured properly, hitting Ctrl twice will pop up the Google Desktop Search bar, and from there it works in a similar fashion to Quicksilver. Something about it doesn’t feel quite as polished as Quicksilver, but it is a very good step in the right direction.

I recently put Windows Vista on my home PC, and it has a built in search index similar to Apple’s Spotlight called Instant Search. I was hopeful that this would be a sufficient replacement for Google Desktop, but I found it to be as difficult to quickly access as Apple’s Spotlight.

Verdict: As of now, it seems that Google Desktop is the best option for a Quicksilver application launcher stand in under Windows. I can finally let the “Programs” section of my Start Menu get as cluttered as I want, because now I can cut straight to the program I want without raising my hands off of the keyboard.

If anyone knows of any more suitable alternatives I’d be happy to hear about them.

Update: Despite my initial opinion of Vista’s Instant Search, I’ve since found the way to quickly access it in the fashion I desired.  I just realized that in Vista, after hitting the Windows key (which does the same thing as clicking on the start button) as soon as I start typing the text drops into the search field.  This is precisely what I needed it to do to act as an application launcher.  I still prefer the way Quicksilver and Google Desktop pop up in the center of the screen, but this is completely sufficient for my needs.  Google Desktop is still the only viable option I’m aware of for Windows XP.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2007 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Tech, Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.