So. Quicksilver. This deserves its own entry.
If you have a Mac, get this program. Within the space of a few hours, it has completely changed how I use my computer. The desktop icon, the dock, the mouse serve almost no purpose now. My massively complicated filetree system might as well not exist.
All I have, all I need, is a single window, popped open with a single hotkey. I type a few letters. Anything I want, anything - program, folder, file, bookmarked website - appears instantly. I hit Enter. That is it.
The bare minimum of keystrokes will do absolutely anything I want it to. There are plugins that work within programs, so that I no longer have to flip to iTunes - or use a Dashboard widget - to pause or change songs. Or browse for a song. iChat does not have to be open for me to send an IM. Quicksilver is the direct connection between my brain and this computer.
As if that weren't enough, the third-party plugins for this are amazing. I don't have to open an image editor to scale an image. This one, if I'm reading it right, could give my computer a command interface not unlike that of Okami. Clearly, reason #631 to get a tablet. Because that is sexy.
I have a fantasy now wherein a loop on the tablet opens Safari, and a squiggle opens a word processor, and three dots opens iChat. Shit, you could set it to kanji. ♥
It took me about half an hour to set this program up, with help from one or two brief tutorials. Pull it down, Macfolk. You won't regret it.
If you have a Mac, get this program. Within the space of a few hours, it has completely changed how I use my computer. The desktop icon, the dock, the mouse serve almost no purpose now. My massively complicated filetree system might as well not exist.
All I have, all I need, is a single window, popped open with a single hotkey. I type a few letters. Anything I want, anything - program, folder, file, bookmarked website - appears instantly. I hit Enter. That is it.
The bare minimum of keystrokes will do absolutely anything I want it to. There are plugins that work within programs, so that I no longer have to flip to iTunes - or use a Dashboard widget - to pause or change songs. Or browse for a song. iChat does not have to be open for me to send an IM. Quicksilver is the direct connection between my brain and this computer.
As if that weren't enough, the third-party plugins for this are amazing. I don't have to open an image editor to scale an image. This one, if I'm reading it right, could give my computer a command interface not unlike that of Okami. Clearly, reason #631 to get a tablet. Because that is sexy.
I have a fantasy now wherein a loop on the tablet opens Safari, and a squiggle opens a word processor, and three dots opens iChat. Shit, you could set it to kanji. ♥
It took me about half an hour to set this program up, with help from one or two brief tutorials. Pull it down, Macfolk. You won't regret it.