Is this the successor to Quicksilver?

qsb screenshot

Quicksilver, along with Adium, stands head and shoulders above other free Mac apps in terms of popularity. Power users have discovered ways to bend Quicksilver to their will, so that it does a ton of stuff without their fingers ever leaving the keyboard. And even if you’re not a power user, the basic functionality has a lot to offer.

But lately, Quicksilver has gone through a few rough spots that have raised doubts about its future. Its main developer, Nicholas Jitkoff, has left. An update for Snow Leopard is still in beta. Development as an open source project remains shaky.

Our best hope, it turns out, may be to follow Jitkoff to his new job at Google, where he is working on Quick Search Box. The name is less than inspired, but the product, so far, is slick.

QSB quickly (as you would expect) searches your computer and the internet for the keywords you type in. It then presents a list of its findings, along with options for what to do with them. Typically, you would launch a program or file or open a URL in your web browser. Other choices include Quick Look, Show in Finder and Move to Trash.

Quicksilver users, of course, might scoff, because they are used to an array of plugins and forum advice that allow them to make their Macs do backflips. QSB isn’t there yet, but it does have a plugin architecture, which surely means that its abilities will be extended. One plugin currently pitched by Google allows you to interact with Twitter.

Aside from the functionality, I have to admit I’m a sucker for QSB’s polished and intuitive interface. I’m used to a more cluttered and complicated look from Google products, but this one borders on sophisticated. For example, I like the way it shows a nice big icon of the app you’ve selected.

If you haven’t used programs like Quicksilver or QSB before, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. After all, Spotlight does a good job of finding and launching. And it’s not all that hard to fire up Safari and do a search from the ever-present Google search box.

For many people, Quicksilver is an efficient way of interacting with their Mac. You get one-stop shopping from the keyboard. Not all minds work the same way, of course, and for some people the benefits may not outweigh the time and effort it takes to learn something new.

The best thing about QSB is that it offers an alternative for who have come to rely on Quicksilver but fear for its future.

Posted Saturday, October 10, 2009 in

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  1. In short, I’ve been using Google’s Quick Search Box since version 1 (now using version 2.0.0.1674) and personally from my experience, Quick Search Box is a lot more user friendly and less Clunky, Happy Usage

    dsw

  2. thanks for posting this—i probably wouldn’t have found this app otherwise. i can’t work w/o quicksilver, but want to explore other (free) options in case the project skids to a screeching halt.

    shutupayouface

  3. It sounds interesting.
    Is this just plain-old app, with no extra gunk installed?

    I remember the Google desktop/search utility from a few years ago. It was slow and annoying, but worse, it loaded a hidden daemon application that kept reinstalling itself, even after you thought you’d deleted it! Real Nice.

    It made me start using AppZapper to clear out test-app detritus, so it wasn’t not a total waste.

    That said, LaunchBar is great. It’s solid, fast, intuitive and actively supported. Sure, it’s $20, but unlike QuickSilver, it’s development has been steady and ongoing. That’s why I selected it over QuickSilver and it’s dicey and lax development.

    There’s nothing worse than getting used to an application or utility, the developer moves on and the thing eventually breaks. Did anyone ever use Concierge, a bookmark manager, for Safari?

    Mr. Reeee

  4. As far as I can tell, the only thing it installs — aside from the app itself — is a file for preferences.

    Mark

  5. I love QuickSilver till Snow Leopard release. With this event unfortunatelly QS is no more ready to be used, it has many bugs e crashes often.

    But its power is not yet implemented in QSB…for example I miss file handling a lot!

    cialz





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