Comments on David Alison's Blog: 4 Mac Apps that speed YOU up

@Rick Baskett: Thanks for the heads up Rick! Check...

2009-06-10T08:14:47.741-04:00

@Rick Baskett: Thanks for the heads up Rick! Checking it out now.

Looks like Google released a new piece of software...

2009-06-09T19:41:55.281-04:00

Looks like Google released a new piece of software that competes with LaunchBar:

http://www.google.com/quicksearchbox/

Hi David, Since you're an aficionado of Mac softw...

2009-05-04T22:37:31.481-04:00

Hi David,

Since you're an aficionado of Mac software, I thought I'd point you to an app I've released:

http://www.tech.com.au/

If you like it, email me at the support email address and I'll send you a free license as a thankyou for an interesting blog.

@Daniel: I used to use USB Overdrive but found Ste...

2009-05-03T00:33:39.984-04:00

@Daniel: I used to use USB Overdrive but found SteerMouse to be better.

I'm gonna try out SteerMouse :D I'm currently usin...

2009-05-02T23:25:16.653-04:00

I'm gonna try out SteerMouse :D I'm currently using USB Overdrive as I didn't know anything else existed but it hasn't had any development on it for many years and seems to crash my system severely sometimes so I'm always scared of it but I like my Logitech mouse too much to give it up so thanks for the post!

@Mr. Reeee, g7whatever: Interesting. I always avoi...

2009-05-02T21:06:56.338-04:00

@Mr. Reeee, g7whatever: Interesting. I always avoided trackballs because I used to be a first person shooter gaming fanatic, though I've long since hung that up. Everyone I know that uses a trackball raves about it though; I'll have to give it a try. The reasoning behind it makes sense. Thanks much!

A couple things I agree with from the comments - ...

2009-05-02T19:44:32.694-04:00

A couple things I agree with from the comments -

DefaultFolderX is AWESOME. Whenever I get on a mac without it I am saddened by what seems like a ton of extra time to navigate to a folder

Trackball - all the way. Besides being very fast - it save me wrist, neck and shoulder pain from the repetitive little movements - and it never moves. It is always in the same place so your hand can go to it instinctively.

KeyCue is great except for some reason it keeps crashing firefox on my. Not sure if others have this same problem. In updates they might have changed the launch preference, but before I could not change it.

Hey David, good blog! I'm a trackball fiend and h...

2009-05-02T15:16:09.801-04:00

Hey David, good blog!

I'm a trackball fiend and have been using them since the first 2-button Kensington Turbo Mouse with a Mac IIcx. I've owned and used maybe a dozen different trackballs over the years, but always went back to the Kensingtons. Some people think I'm nuts for using one, but they're simply better.

My favorite is the Kensington Expert Mouse. There are several great features.
http://us.kensington.com/html/2200.html

1. The ball is large, so it's extremely easy to "throw" the cursor across your screen with one finger. I do CAD (VectorWorks) and use 2 monitors; a 1920 x 1200 and a MacBook Pro 15" (1440 x 900). That's a LOT of pixels to try and traverse with a mouse!

2. It's all optical, so there are no rollers to clean. I keep a small brush on my desk to occasionally sweep crud off the optical pickups.

3. The Scroll Ring surrounding the ball is Fantastic. You never need to reach for a scroll wheel. It's MUCH faster than a wheel, too, since you can keep a finger resting on it.

4. It has 4 buttons which are programmable and you can "chord" 2 buttons together for more flexibility with the Kensington MouseWorks software.

5. With any trackball, it's stationary, so you never run out of cable or desk space. It's space efficient, too.

The only negative I can think of is that learning trackball technique takes a little time. It involves resting your fingertips on the ball and pointing where you want the cursor to go. That's the advantage of the large ball, small trackballs are harder to use. There's also minimal hand stress, unlike actively gripping a mouse and having your hand in tension at all times.

Get one! You won't regret it!

(Gee, I wrote a short story!)

I use BuddyPop, which is similar to TapDex. I must...

2009-05-02T14:48:45.201-04:00

I use BuddyPop, which is similar to TapDex. I must say, TapDex looks much nicer and free, too! Looks like I'll switch. Thanks!
http://projects.tynsoe.org/en/buddypop/

For Spaces, Hyperspaces adds the ability to have different Desktop pictures for each space, so it's easier to tell where you are!
http://hyperspacesapp.com/

I use LaunchBar and chose it over QuickSilver because at the time, it seemed as though QuickSilver was in stasis and I hate whan an application or utility I get used to, suddenly disappears. Remember Concierge for Safari?

If you use a laptop you can't live without Smart S...

2009-05-02T10:28:02.135-04:00

If you use a laptop you can't live without Smart Scroll. David you should try out Warp for when you use Spaces. I use both of these every day. And for quick access to your Address Book try TapDex.

I've tried and liked KeyCue before but couldn't ju...

2009-05-02T10:11:43.817-04:00

I've tried and liked KeyCue before but couldn't justify paying the price they were asking. But for 15$ I might just buy it. Thanks for the MacZot pointer.
Using KeyCue to show the Textmate shortcuts is both impressive and useful.

@DCBrit: Excellent suggestion on KeyCue - really h...

2009-05-02T09:22:26.952-04:00

@DCBrit: Excellent suggestion on KeyCue - really helpful for learning the key combos. Thanks!

Thanks to all for some great suggestions here in t...

2009-05-02T09:04:05.423-04:00

Thanks to all for some great suggestions here in the comments. I also got a couple on Twitter and through e-mail.

@019: That's a good question and one I covered in a couple of blog posts. I tried Quicksilver first and happily used it for a while before switching to LaunchBar. Here is the background on both:

Adding Quicksilver to your Mac LaunchBar as a Quicksilver replacement@Mr. Reeee: You're one of several people that have tried to convince me that I should give a trackball a "spin". Any suggestions on which to use?

Another vote for Default Folder X. It is quite th...

2009-05-02T05:27:05.722-04:00

Another vote for Default Folder X.
It is quite the excellent addition to OSX.

I am curious on your thoughts regarding QuickSilve...

2009-05-02T04:45:10.908-04:00

I am curious on your thoughts regarding QuickSilver vs. LaunchBar. I've always seen Quicksilver as the best application for Mac because it changes the way you do everything and integrates so well with Mac OS. Is there a reason that you would choose LaunchBar over QuickSilver if development for both are the same?

I also love to save time. The one thing that I alw...

2009-05-02T03:49:30.961-04:00

I also love to save time. The one thing that I always like to have around is KeyCue, I am a keyboard junkie (12" Powerbook and no mouse), I am also a new app junkie, so the fact that it will quickly teach me shortcuts for any mac app is really useful.
Just saw it is on sale today at http://maczot.com too, you should give it a go!

A couple more things I just remembered... AllBook...

2009-05-01T16:37:23.462-04:00

A couple more things I just remembered...

AllBookmarks (free) adds a system wide browser bookmark menu. It works with any browser and can even combine bookmarks from multiple browsers.

http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/all_bookmarks

JABMenu ($15), adds a menu item that lets you search the Address Book without running it. It has a sub-menu with an A thru Z sub-menus. A real time saver!

http://www.jonn8.com/jabm/

I use them all, except for SteerMouse. LaunchBar...

2009-05-01T16:30:22.181-04:00

I use them all, except for SteerMouse.

LaunchBar is an excellent way to augment and compliment Spotlight.

You want FAST? Mice are inefficient and SLOW. A trackball is FAST! Especially with 2 monitors.
I use a Kensington Expert Mouse trackball with Kensington MouseWorks.

One thing missing from the list is Default Folder X! It speeds up open and Save dialogue boxes and lets you assign favorite folders and MUCH MORE. It's well worth the $35 shareware fee! I'm lost without it.

Do yourself a favor and check it out!
http://www.stclairsoft.com/

I use all of those except for Steermouse. I chose ...

2009-05-01T14:39:12.392-04:00

I use all of those except for Steermouse. I chose instead to use iKey by ScriptSoftware. It allows me to modify all my mouse buttons, add modifiers, launch programs, and pretty much every shortcut you could ever think of and more than you would ever want! :)

I use 1Password as well. I use it because I can s...

2009-05-01T14:15:55.199-04:00

I use 1Password as well. I use it because I can sync it with my iPhone. I have too many different web sites with different logins (when my usual is taken or not sufficient) to remember without it.

For those who don't want to spend 24, you can sear...

2009-05-01T13:00:10.538-04:00

For those who don't want to spend 24, you can search your address book with spotlight by typing "kind: addr" after the search name. Other "kind:" filters on your search are also available if you look into it a little more. A fun thing to do is use "kind: app" and then bring up all the apps in cover flow, just page through them and see what you've got that you may not even know about. Cheers!

My favorite for speeding up my every day workflow ...

2009-05-01T12:15:40.761-04:00

My favorite for speeding up my every day workflow is simple windowsets. You set up some finder windows and then make a set of them. Using the program you can recall those sets any time you want. Since I'm in and out of folders all day long this is a real time saver.

1password is a must- I'm waiting for 3.0 to upgrad...

2009-05-01T11:32:26.010-04:00

1password is a must- I'm waiting for 3.0 to upgrade to a Family Pack.

I haven't tried LaunchBar yet but the new 5 version may have me take a look. It does allow for a very clean Desktop/Dock

Spaces- I'd use it more if I had more RAM. I have a 24" now and contrary to popular believe I think Spaces becomes even better on large monitors but to run multiple apps you need RAM. My next computer will have 4GB of RAM minimum and I will organize the ones I leave running into Spaces.

Steermouse - I will be using this when I upgrade to a Logitech Revolution MX mouse.