#Alfred or launchbar for mac os#
#Alfred or launchbar mac os x#

If the app isnвЂ™t at your beck and call when you need it, then whatвЂ™s the use of keeping it around?ДЄppearance вЂ“ With Yosemite, OS X pulled an iOS 7 and received an overhauled UI.

Speed вЂ“ You are using a launcher because you want to open something faster, so speed is critical. Being able to intuitively dig into an application and figure out most of its features by poking around for a few minutes is the type of usability we want to see. We narrowed it down to five pieces of criteria:ДЇeatures вЂ“ With launchers now doing much more than opening your apps, we wanted to find one that carried a robust set of features that could cater to a beginner, but also allow more seasoned users to customize things to their liking.Д®ase of Use вЂ“ Every launcher is going to have some sort of learning curve, but we arenвЂ™t looking to spend hours toggling preferences and reading support articles just to get the basics down. With its history in mind, we sought to find out which launcher gave us the best experience in daily use while also offering powerful features to those who wished to take advantage of them.Д«efore we delved into the review process, it was important for us to figure out what qualities of a launcher made it our favorite. And theyвЂ™ve also become sort of an automation playground offering plug-ins and scripts for you to accomplish a series of tasks with just a couple of keystrokes. Launchers now give you instant feedback like showtimes, news, and articles. But the word вЂњlauncherвЂќ has become less of a descriptor of what you are getting and more of a legacy term. While Spotlight wasnвЂ™t the first launcher for OS X, today it sits among a variety of good choices for you to pick from.

#Alfred or launchbar mac os x#

Spotlight has been a part of Mac OS X ever since version 10.4 Tiger, and even though its feature set has evolved since then, its purpose started out simple: To help you find and launch files and apps faster than it would take you to navigate to the location with a mouse. If you are a Mac user, then you have a launcher already installed.

#Alfred or launchbar for mac os#

After numerous keystrokes and much reflective deliberation, we think that Alfred is the favorite launcher for Mac OS X. We wouldnвЂ™t consider the OS X app launcher space a crowded one, but there are enough options out there that could make oneself think twice about clicking the download button. If my original article hasnвЂ™t been updated, I recommend you read it on The Sweet Setup. I am posting it here for preservation purposes.

Note: This article was originally published Maon The Sweet Setup.