Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Applications > Launchbar just got even better

Launchbar just got even better (Page 2)
Thread Tools
superfula
Senior User
Join Date: Mar 2002
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 5, 2004, 05:33 AM
 
Originally posted by ambush:
Uh, yes.
Yeah...file launchers are EXACTLY like search apps Go peddle your software somewhere else.
     
poocat
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: various
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 6, 2004, 11:07 AM
 
Ok. Question. The new search template stuff is absolutely awesome. Does anyone know how to do a search from LaunchBar when you have to make a choice of what kind of search you're doing before you do it? Example:

http://dictionary.reference.com/translate/text.html

You have to choose what language to what language before running the search. Can this be done through LaunchBar (right arrow maybe)?

Thanks.
poocat.
"The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive."
-Robert A. Heinlein, Job
     
King Bob On The Cob
Mac Elite
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Illinois
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 6, 2004, 12:25 PM
 
Originally posted by poocat:
Ok. Question. The new search template stuff is absolutely awesome. Does anyone know how to do a search from LaunchBar when you have to make a choice of what kind of search you're doing before you do it? Example:

http://dictionary.reference.com/translate/text.html

You have to choose what language to what language before running the search. Can this be done through LaunchBar (right arrow maybe)?

Thanks.
poocat.
Not yet, but request it, they seem to be able to listen.
     
ambush
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: -
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 6, 2004, 04:09 PM
 
Originally posted by superfula:
Yeah...file launchers are EXACTLY like search apps Go peddle your software somewhere else.
Quote me where I said they were exactly like iSeek. Please do.

I say they now have search site functionnality, which is what iSeek is all about, with a fancy 15.00$ price tag.

Are you retarded?


... And what am I "peddling" about, here, Mr. Smartass? Chercher's been out of the market for several months now.

Try again, but next time don't put words in my mouth.
( Last edited by ambush; Apr 6, 2004 at 10:29 PM. )
     
poocat
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: various
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 7, 2004, 01:55 AM
 
I put in a request/question. We'll see. They definitely do listen though (they're pretty awesome all around, actually) so here's to hoping.

Thanks for the reply.

poocat.
"The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive."
-Robert A. Heinlein, Job
     
Holigen
Mac Elite
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: In Your Computer
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 15, 2004, 08:27 PM
 
Originally posted by someone:
And don't even get me started on how much better of a gui QS has
Please do

.: 15" PowerBook G4 - 1.5 GHz - 512 MB RAM - ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128 MB VRAM - 80 GB HD @ 5400 rpm :.
     
superfula
Senior User
Join Date: Mar 2002
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 15, 2004, 10:42 PM
 
Originally posted by ambush:
Quote me where I said they were exactly like iSeek. Please do.

I say they now have search site functionnality, which is what iSeek is all about, with a fancy 15.00$ price tag.

Are you retarded?


... And what am I "peddling" about, here, Mr. Smartass? Chercher's been out of the market for several months now.

Try again, but next time don't put words in my mouth.
All you stated in your post was "uh...iSeek". To me and everyone else in the world, that's you saying "if you don't like these products, try iseek", so I called you on it...saying file launchers and searchers are nothing alike. You come back with a witty post "uh...yes". The proof is there. Now go sit down.

If you want to talk about iseek, do it in another thread.
     
Holigen
Mac Elite
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: In Your Computer
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 15, 2004, 11:53 PM
 
I think he said BAM iSeek but its basically the same thing...

.: 15" PowerBook G4 - 1.5 GHz - 512 MB RAM - ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128 MB VRAM - 80 GB HD @ 5400 rpm :.
     
nforcer
Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 2001
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 16, 2004, 01:11 AM
 
Launchbar 4.0 Beta 2 has been posted. I can download it, but I am unable to uncompress it. Stuffit Expander 8 produces a folder with empty contents. I thought it might be a bzip2 issue, so I tried using BZip2X to uncompress it which produced a disc image that had corrupted contents.

Has anyone managed to get it working?
     
saranwarp
Forum Regular
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: dirty south
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 16, 2004, 01:35 AM
 
Yup, it worked for me.
     
workerbee
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Switzerland
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 16, 2004, 04:15 AM
 
Using it now�
MBP 15" 2.33GHz C2D 3GB 2*23" ACD
     
Toyin
Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 16, 2004, 09:52 AM
 
I've been using Quicksilver since this thread started. It's good and it's definitely usable. I really like the aesthetics of the bezel approach. However I just downloaded LB4 beta2. It's just faster and 'smarter' if that's possible. After using both QS and Butler, I have a hard time justifying paying for LB4 when there are 2 free alternatives that do almost everything I need it to do. But then again who am I kidding, windows does almost everything I need it to do as well
-Toyin
13" MBA 1.8ghz i7
"It's all about the rims that ya got, and the rims that ya coulda had"
S.T. 1995
     
nforcer
Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 2001
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 16, 2004, 12:17 PM
 
Looks like my file expanding problem was a problem with Stuffshit Expander. Updating from 8.0 to 8.0.2 seems to have resolved the issue, but the LB application still lacks an icon in the disc image. I'll assume this is a mistake on the part of the developer or the Finder, since there are no corrupted files this time around.
     
threestain
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: London/Plymouth, England
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 19, 2004, 07:15 AM
 
hmm, as a long term user of lb, lb4 seems a good and logical extension. Dunno how to use the others yet, so that might change my opinion. Also, anyone know what the upgrade is going to be?
     
kidtexas
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: usa
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Apr 29, 2004, 10:11 AM
 
Huh, I guess like a lot of others here, I had never heard of quicksilver or butler. I was REALLY impressed by LB4 though. Switching locations is great. I also like the whole tab and spacebar thing. I just realized you can search text files in LB by selecting them and hitting space. I also just realized that you can go to any web location by typing in the address. Once you type the ., LB recognizes it as a URL. Nice.

Anyway, I tried out quicksilver, and while very nice and free, seems to do about the same as Launchbar. I guess its all a matter of which one fits your style better. It seems that LB might have a bit more options in terms of items it can index, but I'm sure QS has its unique features too.

Butler seems to be a nice app too. The itunes integration is nice - I like the itunes info window. It seems to have some thought put into it too about controlling the system/applications rather than just navigation files and opening them. Its configuration seems a bit complex, but looks like a very nice program.

I'd say if you were looking for something more than Launchbar, then Butler would be the way to go. Launchbar seems to do what it does best to me, but Butler certainly seems to be a very nice and powerful program (for free) that does some things that others can't. While QS seems nice too, I don't really see where it is really better in LB other than in price. Of course I'm sure there are some that prefer the QS interface as compared to the LB interface, but the thing I like most about the LB interface is that it integrates so nicely into the OS interface that it seems like part of it. No big windows in the middle of the screen popping up...

Lucky us to have 3 programs such as these at our disposal. I'll have to keep an eye on butler....
     
Stradlater
Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Off the Tobakoff
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 17, 2004, 05:22 PM
 
Tried all three and I have no idea why people like QS over LB other than the price.

LaunchBar 4b5 is faster, better-looking, and smarter in its (wider) search.

QuickSilver needs to polish its GUI and work on its searching.
Butler is just bloated and ugly.

LB all the way; definitely throwing down when the final version is available.
"You rise," he said, "like Aurora."
     
Stradlater
Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Off the Tobakoff
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 17, 2004, 05:27 PM
 
Originally posted by ambush:
Are you retarded?
Are you?

iSeek conducts an internet search that also appears--in a more-or-less similar form--in the launcher apps mentioned in this thread. The similarity ends there, launcher apps have many more features.
"You rise," he said, "like Aurora."
     
Toyin
Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 17, 2004, 07:01 PM
 
Originally posted by Stradlater:
Tried all three and I have no idea why people like QS over LB other than the price.

LaunchBar 4b5 is faster, better-looking, and smarter in its (wider) search.

QuickSilver needs to polish its GUI and work on its searching.
Butler is just bloated and ugly.

LB all the way; definitely throwing down when the final version is available.
The price is a significant reason to look at QS. I know I spend more money on coffee per month, but why pay for something when you don't have to?

I've been using both QS and LB extensively and the jury is still out. I like the fact that QS doesn't show up as an application. I don't like the fact the LB shows up in the command-tab function. I'll often select LB by accident. I also like the in your face bezels of QS better than LB. LB has speed and better configuration over QS. LB can keep up with my typing, updating the selection with each keystroke. QS is always behind.

They're both great products and I'll decide whether I update LB when the final comes out.
-Toyin
13" MBA 1.8ghz i7
"It's all about the rims that ya got, and the rims that ya coulda had"
S.T. 1995
     
poocat
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: various
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 18, 2004, 11:19 AM
 
I hate to throw this in if you know about it, but you do realize that you can turn off LaunchBar's appearance in your dock/app switcher?

The how (it's hidden for reasons also outlined on their site) is here.

It takes a couple of seconds to do, and then bam, LB is totally invisible, the way it was meant to be.

LB4b5 kicks it.

poocat.
"The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive."
-Robert A. Heinlein, Job
     
Toyin
Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 18, 2004, 03:40 PM
 
Originally posted by poocat:
I hate to throw this in if you know about it, but you do realize that you can turn off LaunchBar's appearance in your dock/app switcher?

The how (it's hidden for reasons also outlined on their site) is here.

It takes a couple of seconds to do, and then bam, LB is totally invisible, the way it was meant to be.

LB4b5 kicks it.

poocat.
Thanks I've used that hack and it works well. However everyone won't know to do this and it's not officially supported. It really should be somewhere in the preferences. It would just make LB a little more polished, especially since the other two can do this and are freeware.
-Toyin
13" MBA 1.8ghz i7
"It's all about the rims that ya got, and the rims that ya coulda had"
S.T. 1995
     
Dale Sorel
Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: With my kitties!
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 18, 2004, 04:07 PM
 
Originally posted by Stradlater:
Butler is just bloated and ugly.
Uh, it seems to look and work OK for me
     
Stradlater
Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Off the Tobakoff
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 19, 2004, 09:33 PM
 
Originally posted by Dale Sorel:
Uh, it seems to look and work OK for me
Congrats.
"You rise," he said, "like Aurora."
     
Stradlater
Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Off the Tobakoff
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 19, 2004, 09:35 PM
 
Originally posted by Toyin:
Thanks I've used that hack and it works well. However everyone won't know to do this and it's not officially supported. It really should be somewhere in the preferences. It would just make LB a little more polished, especially since the other two can do this and are freeware.
It's no more of a "hack" than QS's method. It's the exact same info.plist change, QS just allows you to do it from within the program. If you'd like to see it implemented in LB, send some feedback, they're very quick to reply to even non-registered users.
"You rise," he said, "like Aurora."
     
Toyin
Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
May 19, 2004, 11:34 PM
 
Originally posted by Stradlater:
It's no more of a "hack" than QS's method. It's the exact same info.plist change, QS just allows you to do it from within the program. If you'd like to see it implemented in LB, send some feedback, they're very quick to reply to even non-registered users.
Thanks. I am a registered user and I sent the feedback before I posted that. I just figured making it more public, maybe others will do the same
-Toyin
13" MBA 1.8ghz i7
"It's all about the rims that ya got, and the rims that ya coulda had"
S.T. 1995
     
 
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:42 AM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,