After spending about 2 weeks evaluating Quicksilver, Launchbar and Butler, I've taken the latter two off my system and am going to use Quicksilver for the time being. If you don't know what a launcher is - it lets you launch applications, open folder, open urls etc. by typing a few keystrokes rather than having to mouse around finding stuff. In some ways they work like Spotlight, except that they don't search inside files, and they allow fuzzy searches that use just a few letters in order - so (for example) Safari can be invoked by typing 'sf'. Now that example leads to a couple of other observations - firstly, the shortcuts don't have to be standardised - up until now I've always launched Safari using 'saf'. The second comment is that the program learns from your responses. So the first time I used 'sf', Quicksilver suggested “Sara Foster” - a contact from my address book. But when I didn't select that in a few fractions of a second (adjustable) a list of other possibilities popped up and i down arrowed till I found Safari. But the second time I used the abbreviation 'sf', Quicksilver automatically brought up Safari as the default, so a quick Return popped me over into my browser. And if I do want to see Sara Foster's details, all is not lost - invoking Quicksilver (a user selectable keystroke - I use Control-Space) and typing 'sfo' and Return immediately presents me with Sara's details in Address Book.
Quicksilver not only launches (or opens) things - it can also do many different actions on relevant objects too. So for example, after watching a funny video, a few keystrokes will automatically attach the file to an email message to a friend (selected with 2 or 3 letters of their name) and (depending which action has been trained to be my default), send it straight off with a previously created template message (“Thought you might like this...”), or it can open up my email program with the address and attachment already loaded, so I can write a longer message.
Different modules allow Quicksilver to interact with many programs, so I use it to browse, start, stop, and skip iTunes selections; it's possible to use it to directly manipulate graphics files (eg. scale a photo and convert to gif).
There's heaps more to Quicksilver as the following tutorials (and here) or reviews (or this comparative one) show. For my money Butler did just too many things and so was a bit complex to grab hold of - Quicksilver has many complex possibilities but works at a basic and easily understood level straight 'out of the box'. Launchbar seemed to have a similar feature set but three things turned me to QS instead: (1) a simple search for a folder I have called “Presentations” worked as expected in QS whereas LB gave me a great long list of presentation related things (subfolders, bookmarks, documentation) in which my folder was not listed; (2) QS looks cooler (I'm a Mac user after all!); and (3) QS is $19.95 cheaper, costing just $0.00.
If you're a Mac user, check it out - I think it's going to change the way I work for the better and save me from carpal tunnel syndrome as well.
I've just finished playing the loveliest little 'point and click' Flash game called Samarost (look under 'Flash Games'). Actually, there is a Samarost, and Samarost 2. The first game is free (play online or check out the source code to download the relevant .swf files to play off your hard disk). The sequel has two parts - Chapter 1 which is similarly free, and Chapter 2, which is only available if you pay $6.95 (US) IIRC to download the “full version”. You can play through both games in a matter of hours so you don't get a whole lot for your money, but the graphics are well done and sweet and it's just a charming experience.
As an aside, I have begun using this kind of interactive short clip in some church services, asking the congregation to vote on what to do next. I used one a fortnight ago put out by World Vision Australia - Who wants to be the Treasurer? There's also another one particularly relevant to Australia entitled, Our Neighbour's Children.
If you're at all like me, you have a hard disk full of funny (or poignant or deep) video clips for use in Church Services, seminars, workshops and to amuse friends. I have 750 and counting! One of the best resources I've found is the site Viral Videos. They only have 24 on display at any one time but they add new ones at a rate of about 8 every week. I get an email notification when they post a new bunch so I can hp straight over and download them all.
Here's one just for you Mark ;)
And here's an Aussie take on life...
Enjoy.
I suppose it had to happen...
If I'm going to do this blogging thing I guess I need to do it right. So I'm migrating from Blogger to Typepad and I hope in the process I don't lose my 3 avid readers. (Actually I'm safe with one of them 'cause Suzie reads it directly on my computer...)
Update:
For some reason, using Ecto to transfer my posts overrode the date it said was on it and made them all as at today. So being the anally retentive guy I am I just spent the last hour manually editing them via the online interface - talk about a slow job!
One of my favourite podcasts is StupidChurchPeople. Today I was over at the blogsite, checking to see that the boys were still alive, it having been weeks since a 'cast. I was reading the latest entry when (in the comments) I came across Gizoogle - what a hoot!
For your edification, here is the previous entry from the blog, gizoogled:
Of mud n men...
Heard an interest'n quote on tha radio today n shit. A fellow loosely quoted Jizzy Calvin as ho-slappin' “If we were mizzy of tha shiznit of stars, we might have sum-m sum-m of worth, but actually we is not made of tha shiznit of stars - we is mizzle of mud if you gots a paper stack. And we have not jiznust mud in our shoes, mud on our clothes, n mud on our faces, but mud in our hearts n mud in our souls.”
Of course tha irony is thizzat any cosmolizzles will tell you that actually we *are* made of tha shiznit of stars cuz this is how we do it. The carbon we is made of (and tha mud too fo` thizzay matta!) is mizzy from elements which can only be bizzle in tha heart of stars n shot out ta tha cosmos whizzen they die in spectacizzles supernovae.
This gots me gang bangin': is it only that we need a new metaphor, ta bring Calvin up-to-date scientifically? Or is it perhaps time fo` a new n more optimistic theolizzles anthropology - one which moves beyond an obsession wit sin n guilt, n rejoices in our status as children of tha stars?
I'm a bit worried about the gang bangin'... but maybe that's just my obsession wit sin n guilt n shit ;)
