Comments on: Calling Gifted Devs: Quicksilver Needs Your Help

By: Stone

Stone — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:57:35 +0000

I stopped using LaunchBar after trying the free QuickSilver about 6 months ago. I thought I would regret it at first, QS is not as straightforward to learn, but the plug-in modules really sold me. I use the Shelf and Clipboard modules all day - every day.

I know there are other alternatives, but QS has become a good friend. Here’s hoping for it’s future.

By: Ben Lilley

Ben Lilley — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 08:29:54 +0000

I use QS mainly as an app launcher and opening a folder I want and I absolutely love it. Couldn’t live without it.

The thing is I actually tried it purely as a test. I wanted to see if I could change my workflow. I installed it and removed ALL programs from the dock apart from the trash can. And guess what? 5 months later the dock is still empty

By: SCABR.COM » Calling Gifted Devs: Quicksilver Needs Your Help

SCABR.COM » Calling Gifted Devs: Quicksilver Needs Your Help — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:07:50 +0000

[...] EDIT: A point I neglected to write about initially is the cost (or lack thereof) of Quicksilver (thanks for the reminder Weisheng). [...]

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 15:35:52 +0000

A friend of mine introduced me to Quicksilver about six weeks ago and it is EASILY the first thing I would reinstall and the cause of me ripping my hair out if I was unable to. Even if it allowed me to do nothing more than access any application on the machine with three keystrokes (apple-space plus, generally, the first two letters of the app), it would be worth plenty.

I haven’t touched the dock since. Huge props to the developers.

Jason

By: Jon Rowe

Jon Rowe — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 12:21:26 +0000

With the speed improvements to spotlight, QS (although great for power users) doesn’t seem worth installing for the average user now. Sorting of results based on how often you use an item is top of my wish list for spotight’s next incarnation though.

By: iFanatic » Quicksilver Needs Dev Help (via The Apple Blog)

iFanatic » Quicksilver Needs Dev Help (via The Apple Blog) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 09:07:13 +0000

[...] what Nick Santilli of The Apple Blog has to say on the subject. Hopefully there are a few devs sitting around reading my little blog [...]

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:59:25 +0000

2MATTHEW, Quicksilver used to crash on leopard, but they have released a patch since then, not it doesn’t crash (at least very rarely) though some of the implementation is still buggy (though not what most people use daily)

By: Richard W Neal

Richard W Neal — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 05:29:08 +0000

@Brian: Because there’s no way to pay Alcor. Quicksilver is freeware, and unlike most developers, Alcor doesn’t offer any way to donate via PayPal.

Quicksilver is my lifeblood. If Alcor ever decides to accept donations, I’d gladly fork over $100, though Quicksilver transcends mere monetary value for me.

By: Brian

Brian — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 02:49:02 +0000

You know what the problem with Quicksilver is? Well there are at least 3 problems.

1. Have you ever tried finding it via Google? Very hard to do because their homepage is void of keys. They seem to go out of their way to hide their site and products, or even to be contacted.

2. It’s Voodoo like the command line is voodoo. Like Unix in general is voodoo. It scares people. No buttons to click. But if you get into it, it is priceless.

3. Lastly, the price and the customers. They should have charged for it. But worse than that is an advocate who says he would gladly pay for it, but doesn’t. No one is stopping you Nick. For gods sake why would you say you would gladly pay for it and then don’t?

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 02:32:57 +0000

Quicksilver crashed about every 5th time I used it since upgrading to Leopard. Was hanging in there for a stability updated until I read the article. Apparently no updates coming, so quit Quicksilver for Namely + Spotlight after reading the article.No, it isn’t the same, at all, but it works every time.

By: Bill Bradford

Bill Bradford — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 02:01:37 +0000

I was a Quicksilver user, but only used it as an app launcher.

Apple eliminated the need for two of my “essential” third-party apps in 10.5 - Spaces got rid of VirtueDesktops, and I can now use Spotlight as an app launcher.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:12:28 +0000

I agree, I would definitely pay for the program, it’s a great app.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:44:00 +0000

I tried QuickSilver but settled on LaunchBar. I guess I won’t miss it if it’s gone.

By: tom

tom — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:41:34 +0000

hell I would pay 5-10 bucks for it, i use it every day and i cant imagine life without it

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:28:42 +0000

that is is whole point, it is worth a different amount to each person because everyone will use it to a different degree …. thus the In Rainbows price scheme

By: Hidden Manuscripts » Blog Archive » Sad Day In Mac Nerditude: Quicksilver “To Die a Slow Death”

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:33:43 +0000

[...] according to this article here, the developer of Quicksilver (an amazing awesome tool for launching apps/quickly doing tasks/etc.) is going to stop supporting the project. I am pretty sad to hear that news, I really like Quicksilver a lot, I use it all day every day, one of my favourite apps of all time for the mac. It has a fantastic plug-in architecture and is there as soon as I need it to be. Hell, I’d be willing to pay $30 bucks for this app, its a crucial part of my workflow now. I hope some team picks up the code and gives it a home [...]

By: Dan Quellhorst

Dan Quellhorst — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:29:04 +0000

$30 is a bit much, try $15.

By: Weisheng

Weisheng — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 19:18:14 +0000

Well you’re right it’s not for everyone, especially someone who’s just switched over to the Mac. It’s more of a power app and my friends who’ve switched don’t generally use it for anything other than launching apps. However, as a demo to someone still on Windows, it’s pretty darn impressive. Like you’ve said, getting them to use it to its full capability after switching is another matter.

By: dn

dn — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:22:28 +0000

Your all mad, this is a terrible app to introduce to new mac users. To have them learn an OS and something as hard to grasp as QS must be maddening.

However it is an excellent app to introduce to mac users a year or two down the line. Or as a nice demo for power users who insist macs are just a pretty face

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:45:29 +0000

Same point of view here in Switzerland…

I could not live one minute without QS… I use it for nearly every action on my mac, it’s so fast and adaptive. People are always very impressed about it how easy it makes!

I would pay also up to 50$ for the soft. No problem. Or if Apple want to include it to the OS, could be also a solution maybe.

Hope it will never disappear! I don’t want to change for Launchbar

By: Jono

Jono — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 08:05:15 +0000

Yea, Ankur has already started working on it which is great news!
It’s also encouraging to hear that he’s found a lot of mess in the code & he’s sorting it out. Hopefully he & others can make it more stable. Really looking forward to it in the future.

And I agree, this is one app I’d definitely be willing to pay for.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 00:36:40 +0000

I do have to wonder how many people actually need *QuickSilver* who wouldn’t be happy with the alternative he suggested, LaunchBar.

I know it isn’t for everyone, and it certainly doesn’t have QS’s overall capability, but it (to me) feels much faster, and on the whole feels more polished. Again, that’s subjective, but if you haven’t tried LaunchBar, now might be the time.

By: MariusTh86

MariusTh86 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:37:35 +0000

@Carl: was just planning to post that link myself
Hopefully he’ll come out with a stable release.

By: Nick Santilli

Nick Santilli — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:48:31 +0000

@Carl -
Thanks for the link! I’ve gotten some great tidbits out of VV in the past, but have never followed it regularly. Looks like it’s time to do so!!

By: Carl

Carl — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:20:46 +0000

http://lipidity.com/apple/cleaning-up-quicksilver/

By: yuric

yuric — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:14:52 +0000

I’ve always been somewhat interested in learning to code and develop but never started because of school and personal life commitment, now that I actually feel the urge to start learning just so I could start contributing to sustaining “quicksilver.”

And yeah, I share the same sentiment, I now actually use quicksilver like the old chinese proverb “act without doing”

By: Weisheng

Weisheng — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:52:00 +0000

I’d actually pay for the app if it was taken over by a third party developer, it’s also the one app I demonstrate to friends when I first introduce the Mac to them. I’m sure there’ll be those who will moan if it’s no longer free, but I wouldn’t mind paying for a stable release with the plugins updated and new features added.

Of course, the preferable alternative would be for users who are also developers to contribute to the effort but I can’t see how that’s a long-term solution. They’ll eventually get tired of supporting the app for nothing in return, just as Alcor seems to be.

The ideal solution would be for his current employer Google or Apple to take over the project. It would be great if Apple would integrate it directly into the OS, just as they did with Cover Flow. Unfortunately, seeing as how it competes with Spotlight I can’t see how Apple would get both to complement each other. The future looks bleak.

By: MikeD

MikeD — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:00:29 +0000

I agree, Quicksilver is seriously the app I couldn’t live without. I use it instinctively, so much that in those rare occasions where I have to restart Quicksilver, I quit the program and my brain tries to restart it with *Cmd* *space* QS.

Like you, I’m not a programmer. I don’t really have any strong need to see QS extended upon, but we all need it to at least remain stable with new versions of the OS!

I hope someone picks it up!

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:58:39 +0000

I thought the same thing when I read about Quicksilvers slow death. At the college I attend there are more and more people getting new Macs every year. The first application that I have them install is Quicksilver. I sure hope that this must have for the Mac doesn’t go way any time soon.

By: Matt Radel

Matt Radel — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:25:13 +0000

The shame is it sounds like he’s lost interest in it. I’d love to see someone pick it up and keep moving with it, but I’m afraid something will be lost in the transition.