Quicksilver

I’m sure ***Will|http://pulchersentio.prwdot.org/*** or someone else has mentioned this program to me in the past, but I finally got around to checking it out. ***Quicksilver|http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/*** is a utility for Mac OS X 10.3 or later that is an application launcher, search engine, organizing tool, and much, much more. It’s hard to describe exactly what it is. It’s much easier to try it out.

ppp|
Quicksilver’s iTunes Functionality|ppp

I would have been a bit baffled with Quicksilver if it weren’t for some tips I received from ***Ben|http://www.benbrophy.com/*** and ***Matt|http://photomatt.net*** at the WordPress Meetup[*]. First, they recommended deleting everything from my Dock and starting with a clean slate. That forced me to rely on Quicksilver for application launching. They also recommended that I check out ***Dan Dickinson’s Tutorial|http://vjarmy.com/archives/2004/03/quicksilver_a_b.php*** and the ***43Folders Quicksilver archives|http://www.43folders.com/quicksilver/index.html***. These tutorials have a lot of tips on how to get started with Quicksilver and how to use it to “own” the Mac OS.

If you’re using a Mac, and haven’t tried Quicksilver… give it a shot. But be sure to go through those tutorials… it will make a lot more sense and be a lot more useful if you do.

[ * I’ve found that when I attend user group meetings of this type, I don’t get as much benefit from the discussion surrounding the meeting topic as I do from simply observing how other people go about using their computers. I pick up far more tips and insight from these face-to-face meetings than I do when discussing things in online forums. With online discussion, you don’t have the opportunity to observe someone actually using their computer and the ability to ask them, “Hey, what’s that you just did?” Don’t get me wrong, discussing the meeting topic is great as well, especially if you have a particularly difficult problem. They’re often easier to solve when meeting face to face. ]

5 thoughts on “Quicksilver

  1. Will

    I probably did mention it to you at some point. I love it.
    I don’t use it for everything, but I have all but entirely stopped digging around in the Finder since I got it a few months ago.

    Reply
  2. Will

    I haven’t checked them out yet, no. I already have it set up to handle all of my bookmarks. I installed the iTunes plugin, but don’t have a whole lot of use for it since I have YouControl:Tunes running up in the menu bar, and with a notebook, my hands are never far from a pointing device. I shall definitely look into the Adress Book and Mail stuff, though.

    Reply
  3. Peter

    It’s not so much the ability to control iTunes as it is the ability to search your iTunes library and play directly from the search results without going into iTunes. As far as I can tell, YouControl doesn’t allow you to do that.

    Definitely go through the tutorials, though. Take it to the next level.

    Reply
  4. Will

    Yeah, I took a look at Dickinson’s last night. There is definitely functionality in the iTunes one that I was missing out on. I was unaware of some of the other functionality, too. Good stuff.

    Reply

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