“I forget it’s not part of OS X…” I’ve read the same sentiment about Quicksilver many many times, and it’s a testament to how great it really is. But to me, Quicksilver IS OS X. The things that Quicksilver (QS from here on out) enables users to do on OS X are the things that drop Windows users’ jaws. A while back I wrote Quicksilver Changes Everything as an introduction and tutorial of this incredible app. Today I aim to reintroduce QS and address the Spotlight argument. Soon to follow I’ll give a few more walk throughs of cool QS powers.
Quickly, QS is an Application Launcher. Whoop-dee-doo, right? Right! Because beyond the Launcher capabilities, it allows you to handle files, folders, manipulate just about any data on your system, interface with a multitude of OS X apps, and so on. Swiss Army Knife has got nothing on Quicksilver.
Just a quick heads-up in case you haven’t noticed yourself…
If you’re running the Saft plugin for Safari, it WILL break Safari following the update to 10.4.2. Opening Safari will pop up a window telling you that Saft isn’t supported in the current Safari version and it gives you the option to Try Anyway, Quit [...]
10.4.2 Mac OS X Update is out. Check the Apple Menu –> Software Update …
Update Info
Security Updates Info
Does anybody have upgrade thoughts/notes/caveats/warnings to share? I’ll try to install it later tonight. The mention of Dashboard widgets management enhancement caught my attention.
In our first installment of our weekly “Download This App” we bring you an app that makes Dashboard what it should have been from the start. Mesa Dynamic’s Amnesty allows you to run widgets as if they were their own stand alone app. Why is this a good thing? It means you get to run [...]
On July 1st I briefly introduced the Gizmo Project. After spending some time playing with it over the weekend, I’d like to share a few features I’d love to see in future versions:
I’ve moved my own blog over to using the Blojsom-based weblog server that is now included with Mac OS X Server 10.4 so that I could try it out and see what’s in there, and what’s not that I’d like to be in there.
First off, what I like about Apple’s new blog server:
1. Easy [...]
The SIP protocol, by its open nature, enables various providers to interoperate and compete for your loyalty, so you might shop for SIP services the exact same way you’ll shop for e-mail services. This open protocol also enables every industrious Software Author in the World to build best-of-breed real-time communications tools. These tools are coming. For all platforms. Mac. Linux. Windows. Developers are working around the clock to be the first-to-market with the next Skype-killer, in a race to earn your loyalty.
Alien Skin Software has long been one of the coolest software companies out there. I’ve always loved their plug ins for not only how cool they are, but how useful they are as well.
The two smokin’ plugs I’m covering today are Eye Candy 5-Nature and Eye Candy 5-Textures.
Eye Candy 5 Textures
Eye Candy 5 Textures [...]
With iTunes 4.9, you can now browse and subscribe to podcasts from within the iTunes Music Store. Podcasts are frequently updated radio-style shows downloadable over the Internet. You can also transfer podcasts to iPod, for listening on the go.
iTunes 4.9 weighs in at a 9.9mb update, but is currently only available on a Mac, via [...]
It’s already been all over the usual news outlets, but just in case you had missed it, here’s a quickie to remind you of Google’s Beta Video Upload Program. While it had been out for quite a few months with a Windows uploader program, they more recently released uploaders for both OS X and Linux. [...]
The folks at SoundSpectrum wanted us to take a look at their G-Force product for them, so I was the one who got to play with it. I always enjoy a new software app or utility that can do something different, so this interested me.
G-Force as a visualization plugin that works on Windows and Mac, [...]
We all love our Macs, and most of the time, they love us back. But occasionally, programs start crashing, or the spinning-pinwheel-of-death becomes a common sight. In these situations, there are a few steps you can take to try and remedy the problem. Today, we will be looking at repairing damaged file permissions.
What are [...]
O’Reilly’s MacDevCenter has two articles up which I think should be required reading, especially with the ongoing iTunes buzz. One is on video playing in iTunes and other is audio gadgets.
x180 / james duncan davidson: Dear Steve is an open letter to Steve Jobs regarding the switch-over to Intel Hardware.
James helps put me at ease by detailing some of his first-hand experiences of the ease and speed of porting apps over to the X86 framework. I’m sure there are plenty of folks [...]
A video has surfaced that supposedly shows the developer version of the x86 version of Tiger running on a Dell Laptop. It seems very clear to me that this is a hoax. Not only does the video neglect to provide the easiest proof — a clear view of the “About this Mac” window –, but [...]
In the world of RSS readers for OS X, two pieces of software compete for the title of king. Both Newsfire and NetNewsWire have evangelistic user-bases, and both have their pro’s and con’s. I will be looking at these programs from a usability point of view.
Newsfire:
Developed by David Wattanabe, Newsfire is the aesthetists news-reader. [...]
It’s a flashback to 1995. Macs were still using Power PC in the far future. I was still using Windows at home of all things. And TopXNotes must have been created around this time. It has all the classic signs of.. well.. clasic-isms.
Now to be fair, this application is somewhat functional. You get 20 free [...]
Software Update will give you the lowdown, but for those as yet unaware, Security Update 2005-006 is now available for your enjoyment, incorporating fixes relating to:
AFP (AppleTalk File Sharing) Server - buffer overflow; ACL-related issues
Bluetooth - insufficient input checking - wrongly able to access files outside of the default directory
CoreGraphics - crash; privilege escalation
Folder Permissions [...]
In yesterday’s write-up,I included Apple’s decription of Rosetta that contained the following section:
Rosetta does not run the following:
* Applications built for Mac OS 8 or 9
* Code written specifically for AltiVec
* Code that inserts preferences in the System Preferences pane
* Applications that require a G4 or G5 processor
* Applications that depend on one or more [...]
SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol, and is to real-time communications what SMTP and e-mail are to message delivery, and is slated to become the next major revolution in the ways we humans communicate. Want to start playing? Start here.
