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How do you describe Quicksilver?

Acting without doing SOUNDS good, but... (Ask MetaFilter)

I really liked this AskMe question about Quicksilver, since it's one that comes up a lot for folks who don't get as enthused about the app as I (and many of you) do:

Everywhere I go on the internet, Mac users rave about Quicksilver. I've downloaded it a couple times, and I sort of get that it COULD be really useful, but I am not sure how...

So what am I missing with Quicksilver? I see so many other people who get a lot of use out of it, and I am sure I can fit it in somewhere, too, but I just can't seem to figure it out....

Here's a portion of how I responded in comments:

Quicksilver provides access to almost any kind of stuff in your Mac's and your world -- contact information, bookmarks, files, Applications, system settings, and pretty much anything else -- and it lets you leap to any of these things by typing a few letters of the name (NB: Spotlight is more about contents and QS is more about names; they're complementary, not competing). So, that's the neato, Day 0 stuff.

But the big sexy comes with how QS understands the potential verbal relationships between any of those objects, then gives you a single keyboard interface for making amazing things happen...

I'll admit that it always makes me realize what a fanboy I am whenever I try to explain Quicksilver, but, truthfully, it is kind of challenging.

How do you describe Quicksilver to folks who don’t get all the fuss? How do you relate the sexiness?

Berko's picture

Re: QS Haiku

I think starting small and simple is where it is. If it were up to me, I would do something similar to the "set up triggers for their three favorite applications and use it for a week" but I would take it from the angle of "Name one to five actions you do on your Mac at least three times a day that would make your life easier if you could shorten the time it takes."

As an example, someone might answer 1) Controlling (play, pause, volume, etc) iTunes 2) Navigating to that one folder where my Downloads go. 3) Adding items to my Backpack account.

Great, let's implement Quicksilver for those actions and then you'll see how much time Quicksilver saves. Then, you'll want to see where it can take you. Like others have said, the only way to "get" Quicksilver is to experience it. Doing so in a small number of ways that are immediately meaningful to the user seems like the surest way to see appreciable benefit from such an ephemeral app. Wei wu wei comes after that.

 
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