14 DAY TRIAL // Quickly getting to the applications and files you need has always been important to computer users. In the old days, when computing power was still far from being enough there were all sorts of ways of doing this, from implementations such as the original Apple Menu, to small dock like applications. Back then, space was an issue, and at the time, the now humble alias was quite the step forward as it allowed you to quickly access many things from one place, while actually letting you spread them across many locations. Today, things are a bit different, with things like indexing and built in search capabilities that let us locate anything anywhere instantly. Apple's Spotlight is a fine example of this, but such capabilities have been around since before it, and many people are familiar with programs such as LaunchBar and QuickSilver.
Today's program, Launcher, is, as you might have guessed, one such item launcher.
What it does
What Launcher does is to let you quickly launch applications by simply typing in their name, or parts of their name and having the applications that match your search appear. You can launch applications this way, or switch between existing ones, by simply trying to 'relaunch' them without quitting them first.
Not the launchiest launcher
While there are other programs similar to this out there, they are very different in one major aspect: they can launch many things, while Launcher can only do applications. LaunchBar, QuickSilver, and Spotlight, all let you search for any and all files; some of them even letting you do advanced things such as browse your iTunes library from right within them, or even browse the contents of the hard drive.
The fact that it can only let you search for applications is not really a feature of Launcher,but rather more of a clear limitation. With so many other programs out there that have been doing this for a long time now, this program seems crippled without such functionality.
Instant on
There is one instance when the above point does not apply, and that is when all you want to do with such a program is launch and switch between applications. In this case, Launcher actually becomes a better solution than others, for while they can also be configured to only launch programs, they actually need to be configured for this, and , chances are, if you are only interested in launching applications you are not likely to want to get messy with configurations when you can use something that does it out of the box.
Indeed, Launcher works without any configuration whatsoever. You just start it up and can get straight to launching programs with it. There is no configuration, even if you wanted to actually change it. On the other hand, similar programs usually have complex configurations available that let you tweak what is looked for, where and how it's being handled.
Piggyback ride
One look at Launcher's requirements will speak volumes if you know a little about OS X and how it does most of its magic.
This program needs OS X 10.4 and Spotlight active, meaning, in a few words, that it is little more than a nice interface that lets Spotlight do all the actual work, and simply delivers the results in a different arrangement. Basically you can obtain pretty much the same functionality by using Spotlight.
There are a few differences; however, all of them stemming from the fact that Launcher will only work with applications. Spotlight will also show a lot of other types of results, and will show less applications than Launcher, meaning that you will probably have to expand the search by giving more and more of the application's name in order to get the result you want in Spotlight, while in Launcher only a few letters will suffice.
The Good
A very good solution if you want a launcher for applications. Requires no configuration whatsoever, and will never need one.
The Bad
A pale shadow of what a launcher can do, being little more than an interface thrown together that uses Spotlight behind the scene to do all the actual work.
The Truth
If all you want is to launch applications, then this will do fine. If you want something a little more versatile that can do a lot more, look at other alternatives.
Here are some screenshots, click to enlarge:
