Why I Love Quicksilver
Just so darn useful
I’m a big Mac user at home. In fact the only time these days the only time I use a Windows machine is either when I’m at work or help Cati with stuff on her laptop/PC. However there are few things that I miss when I’m working in Windows but if there is one application I wish I had in Windows is Quicksilver.
Quicksilver (QS) is a now open source project which pretty much will replace finder. Why? Because you can do a heck of a lot with Quicksilver. First and foremost many people use it to launch applications, by invoking Quicksilver you can type the name of the application you wish to launch and, well, launch it. Fair enough you can do this in finder but you can do more. Say you invoke QS and type in iTunes, from there you can actually browse into your library and play a song. You can then browse to another and queue that track to play after the one you’re just playing and so on. Already you’re doing something Apple OSX’s finder wishes it could do. The list of actions you can do is almost endless. You can stack things into a shelf so you can access frequently used stuff not to mention my favourite ability which is finding a file or files, chosing to send them to someone and selecting a contact and watch as QS sends an e-mail without me even needing to open Mail.
It’s intuitive workflow style makes this application what it is and it’s why I love it so much. Things involving several mouse clicks and some hunting a lot quicker. I know there are Windows alternatives but none are as powerful and extensible as Quicksilver. In fact Quicksilver is probably one of the most powerful applications you can get for your Mac and best of all it’s free! It’s a application that I think any Mac user should have because it just makes sense.
If you’re thinking of giving Quicksilver a try have a look at these guides over at Lifehacker:
