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  • Early History of Mac OS X Dock

    From D Finnigan@21:1/5 to All on Wed Jan 8 16:44:05 2025
    article by James Thomson
    January 4, 2025 https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at-a-time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On the 5th
    of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user interface of Mac OS X
    to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all know
    the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what feels like forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).


    The version he showed was quite different to what actually ended up
    shipping, with square boxes around the icons, and an actual "Dock" folder in your user's home folder that contained aliases to the items stored.

    I should know - I had spent the previous 18 months or so as the main
    engineer working away on it. At that very moment, I was watching from a
    cubicle in Apple Cork, in Ireland. For the second time in my short Apple career, I said a quiet prayer to the gods of demos, hoping that things
    didn't break. For context, I was in my twenties at this point and scared witless.

    I didn't design the do
  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to D Finnigan on Thu Jan 9 10:32:13 2025
    On 2025-01-08 16:44:05 +0000, D Finnigan said:

    article by James Thomson
    January 4, 2025 https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at-a-time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On the 5th of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user interface of Mac OS X to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all know
    the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what feels like forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).
    <snip>

    The MacOS X Dock idea is a carry over from the NeXTSTEP OS it is based
    on. Apple could of course have simply not bothered with it, but decided
    to keep it. The code for it may or may not have been completely
    re-written for MacOS X though.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Liz Tuddenham@21:1/5 to D Finnigan on Sat Jan 11 12:30:59 2025
    D Finnigan <[email protected]> wrote:

    article by James Thomson January 4, 2025 https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at-a- time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On the 5th of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user interface of Mac OS X to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all know
    the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what feels like forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).


    I'm sorry to add a note of dissent, but the Dock was one of the main
    things which made me decide not to install OSX. The Launcher and
    Windowshade were far more useful and intuitive - things stayed where you
    put them so your fingers always knew where to find them. That is why I
    am still using a Beige G3 with OS 8.6 as my main office machine.

    Before OSX, the Mac community used to ridicule Windows for having such a user-unfriendly interface where things disappeared and had to be
    chased-after to get them back. Where you had to guess which icon
    represented what you wanted and then wait until the mouseover told you
    it was the wrong one. Then OSX came along, with all those
    counter-intuitive things built-in and, worse still, refused to let the
    user remove them.

    I have been forced to use an OSX machine for Web browsing, but it was
    driving me insane until I stuck the Dock where it wouldn't open by
    accident and then left an open file (which I called "Launcher") across
    the boittom of the Desktop with the icons *and names* of the items I
    most use parked in it in a logical order.

    I hate the Dock with a vengeance, it has spoilt the Mac platform for me.


    --
    ~ Liz Tuddenham ~
    (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
    www.poppyrecords.co.uk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to Liz Tuddenham on Sun Jan 12 10:03:14 2025
    On 2025-01-11 12:30:59 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:

    D Finnigan <[email protected]> wrote:

    article by James Thomson January 4, 2025
    https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at-a- >> time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On the 5th >> of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user interface of Mac OS X >> to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all know
    the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what feels like
    forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).

    I'm sorry to add a note of dissent, but the Dock was one of the main
    things which made me decide not to install OSX. The Launcher and
    Windowshade were far more useful and intuitive - things stayed where you
    put them so your fingers always knew where to find them. That is why I
    am still using a Beige G3 with OS 8.6 as my main office machine.

    Before OSX, the Mac community used to ridicule Windows for having such a user-unfriendly interface where things disappeared and had to be
    chased-after to get them back. Where you had to guess which icon
    represented what you wanted and then wait until the mouseover told you
    it was the wrong one. Then OSX came along, with all those
    counter-intuitive things built-in and, worse still, refused to let the
    user remove them.

    I have been forced to use an OSX machine for Web browsing, but it was
    driving me insane until I stuck the Dock where it wouldn't open by
    accident and then left an open file (which I called "Launcher") across
    the boittom of the Desktop with the icons *and names* of the items I
    most use parked in it in a logical order.

    I hate the Dock with a vengeance, it has spoilt the Mac platform for me.

    By default the MacOS X Dock stays visible all the time. You have to
    purposely choose to change the setting to hide it until the mouse
    pointer is close enough.

    It is a Mac of course, so there are many other options for launching
    and using apps.

    Depending on which version of MacOS X, there is also Launchpad (so you
    only have to remember one icon in the Dock), which displays all the
    apps with their names underneath the icons. Or you could simply leave
    the Applications folder window open in Icon View and/or put aliases of
    your apps on the Desktop.

    Another option is pressing Command-spacebar and then start typing the
    app's name. If Spotlight's first choice isn't the correct one, you can
    keep typing more letters or use the arrow keys to pick from the options.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to Liz Tuddenham on Sun Jan 12 12:03:20 2025
    On 2025-01-11 12:30:59 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:

    D Finnigan <[email protected]> wrote:

    article by James Thomson January 4, 2025
    https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at-a- >> time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On the 5th >> of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user interface of Mac OS X >> to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all know
    the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what feels like
    forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).


    I'm sorry to add a note of dissent, but the Dock was one of the main
    things which made me decide not to install OSX. The Launcher and
    Windowshade were far more useful and intuitive - things stayed where you
    put them so your fingers always knew where to find them. That is why I
    am still using a Beige G3 with OS 8.6 as my main office machine.

    You can get Dock apps for Classic versions of MacOS. "A-Dock" is
    perhaps the best of them.
    <http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/a-dock-301>




    Before OSX, the Mac community used to ridicule Windows for having such a user-unfriendly interface where things disappeared and had to be
    chased-after to get them back. Where you had to guess which icon
    represented what you wanted and then wait until the mouseover told you
    it was the wrong one. Then OSX came along, with all those
    counter-intuitive things built-in and, worse still, refused to let the
    user remove them.

    I have been forced to use an OSX machine for Web browsing, but it was
    driving me insane until I stuck the Dock where it wouldn't open by
    accident and then left an open file (which I called "Launcher") across
    the boittom of the Desktop with the icons *and names* of the items I
    most use parked in it in a logical order.

    I hate the Dock with a vengeance, it has spoilt the Mac platform for me.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From super70s@21:1/5 to Your Name on Sat Jan 11 21:27:51 2025
    On 2025-01-11 23:03:20 +0000, Your Name said:

    On 2025-01-11 12:30:59 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:

    D Finnigan <[email protected]> wrote:

    article by James Thomson January 4, 2025
    https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at-a- >>> time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On the 5th
    of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user interface of Mac OS X
    to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all know >>> the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what feels like >>> forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).


    I'm sorry to add a note of dissent, but the Dock was one of the main
    things which made me decide not to install OSX. The Launcher and
    Windowshade were far more useful and intuitive - things stayed where you
    put them so your fingers always knew where to find them. That is why I
    am still using a Beige G3 with OS 8.6 as my main office machine.

    You can get Dock apps for Classic versions of MacOS. "A-Dock" is
    perhaps the best of them.
    <http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/a-dock-301>

    Yeah IIRC there were third-party versions of the Dock before Apple
    formally incorporated it into their system (much in the same way they
    did with WindowShade and other extensions). I never used them though
    and grudgingly accepted the Dock when I moved to OSX.

    I never leave anything in the Dock other than apps that are running, to
    me it's ridiculous to see a Dock with 20 or 30 icons in it.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Liz Tuddenham@21:1/5 to Your Name on Sun Jan 12 07:44:08 2025
    Your Name <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 2025-01-11 12:30:59 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:

    D Finnigan <[email protected]> wrote:

    article by James Thomson January 4, 2025
    https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at
    -a- time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On
    the 5th of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user
    interface of Mac OS X to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all
    know the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what
    feels like forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).


    I'm sorry to add a note of dissent, but the Dock was one of the main
    things which made me decide not to install OSX. The Launcher and Windowshade were far more useful and intuitive - things stayed where you put them so your fingers always knew where to find them. That is why I
    am still using a Beige G3 with OS 8.6 as my main office machine.

    You can get Dock apps for Classic versions of MacOS. "A-Dock" is
    perhaps the best of them.
    <http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/a-dock-301>

    That's the last thing I should want to do, why ruin a good operating
    system? I want to completely remove the Dock from OSX and use a
    combination of Launcher and Windowshade.

    'Minimising' things into the Dock is like having a dilligent but stupid secretary who removes every sheet of paper from your desk except the one
    you are reading and files it away in an ever-changing filing system that
    you have to search by pictures to get it back. With Windowshade you
    just rolled up the window so you could see what was underneath it - then
    you knew exactly what it was and where to find it when you wanted it
    again.


    I hate the Dock with a vengeance, it has spoilt the Mac platform for me.


    --
    ~ Liz Tuddenham ~
    (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
    www.poppyrecords.co.uk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to Liz Tuddenham on Mon Jan 13 10:17:09 2025
    On 2025-01-12 07:44:08 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:
    Your Name <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 2025-01-11 12:30:59 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:
    D Finnigan <[email protected]> wrote:

    article by James Thomson January 4, 2025
    https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at >>>> -a- time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On
    the 5th of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user
    interface of Mac OS X to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all
    know the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what
    feels like forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).

    I'm sorry to add a note of dissent, but the Dock was one of the main
    things which made me decide not to install OSX. The Launcher and
    Windowshade were far more useful and intuitive - things stayed where you >>> put them so your fingers always knew where to find them. That is why I
    am still using a Beige G3 with OS 8.6 as my main office machine.

    You can get Dock apps for Classic versions of MacOS. "A-Dock" is
    perhaps the best of them.
    <http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/a-dock-301>

    That's the last thing I should want to do, why ruin a good operating
    system? I want to completely remove the Dock from OSX and use a
    combination of Launcher and Windowshade.

    Potentially having a Dock in Classic MacOS helps to get used to using
    it in newer MacOS versions.



    'Minimising' things into the Dock is like having a dilligent but stupid secretary who removes every sheet of paper from your desk except the one
    you are reading and files it away in an ever-changing filing system that
    you have to search by pictures to get it back. With Windowshade you
    just rolled up the window so you could see what was underneath it - then
    you knew exactly what it was and where to find it when you wanted it
    again.

    You didn't mention minimizing in the original post, although I don't
    think A-Dock does that anyway.

    There are Windowshade apps for MacOS X, but I've never used them:

    Deskovery
    <https://www.neomobili.com/products/deskovery/>

    WindowMizer
    <https://www.windowmizer.com/windowmizer>


    For older Macs / MacOS X versions there is:

    WindowShade X
    <http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/windowshade-x>


    You can't remove the Dock from MacOS X because it is expected to be
    there by the OS and many apps. Best you can do is hide it. Many of the
    "Dock replacement" apps simply hide the Dock.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From super70s@21:1/5 to Your Name on Sun Jan 12 17:34:09 2025
    On 2025-01-12 21:17:09 +0000, Your Name said:

    On 2025-01-12 07:44:08 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:
    Your Name <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 2025-01-11 12:30:59 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:
    D Finnigan <[email protected]> wrote:

    article by James Thomson January 4, 2025
    https://tla.systems/blog/2025/01/04/i-live-my-life-a-quarter-century-at >>>>> -a- time/

    ---

    So, we are coming up on a little anniversary for me this weekend. On >>>>> the 5th of January 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the new Aqua user
    interface of Mac OS X to the world at Macworld Expo.

    Towards the end of the presentation, he showed off the Dock. You all >>>>> know the Dock, it's been at the bottom of your Mac screen for what
    feels like forever (if you keep it in the correct location, anyway).

    I'm sorry to add a note of dissent, but the Dock was one of the main
    things which made me decide not to install OSX. The Launcher and
    Windowshade were far more useful and intuitive - things stayed where you >>>> put them so your fingers always knew where to find them. That is why I >>>> am still using a Beige G3 with OS 8.6 as my main office machine.

    You can get Dock apps for Classic versions of MacOS. "A-Dock" is
    perhaps the best of them.
    <http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/a-dock-301>

    That's the last thing I should want to do, why ruin a good operating
    system? I want to completely remove the Dock from OSX and use a
    combination of Launcher and Windowshade.

    Potentially having a Dock in Classic MacOS helps to get used to using
    it in newer MacOS versions.



    'Minimising' things into the Dock is like having a dilligent but stupid
    secretary who removes every sheet of paper from your desk except the one
    you are reading and files it away in an ever-changing filing system that
    you have to search by pictures to get it back. With Windowshade you
    just rolled up the window so you could see what was underneath it - then
    you knew exactly what it was and where to find it when you wanted it
    again.

    You didn't mention minimizing in the original post, although I don't
    think A-Dock does that anyway.

    There are Windowshade apps for MacOS X, but I've never used them:

    Deskovery
    <https://www.neomobili.com/products/deskovery/>

    WindowMizer
    <https://www.windowmizer.com/windowmizer>


    For older Macs / MacOS X versions there is:

    WindowShade X
    <http://macintoshgarden.org/apps/windowshade-x>


    You can't remove the Dock from MacOS X because it is expected to be
    there by the OS and many apps. Best you can do is hide it. Many of the
    "Dock replacement" apps simply hide the Dock.

    I've been a fan of a more elegant solution ever since Apple quit
    letting you customize the Apple Menu with OSX -- the XMenu extension.
    It lets you easily access your favorite apps and files (with their own
    mini or large icons, or no icons if you prefer), just like the Dock
    does. Put an alias of your HD at the top (with a space before it) and
    you can drill down to every folder on the computer.

    If I want a quick look at the Desktop, just Command-F3 (or on earlier
    versions of OSX just F11).

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Liz Tuddenham@21:1/5 to scole on Thu Jan 16 13:08:54 2025
    scole <[email protected]> wrote:

    In article <1r5zwor.15ub1rpf2vodeN%[email protected]d>, [email protected]d (Liz Tuddenham) wrote:

    <snip>

    I hate the Dock with a vengeance, it has spoilt the Mac platform for me.

    I first used a Mac in 2007, a MacBook running OSX Tiger, so I have only
    ever known the Dock really and, in honesty, I've never had a problem with
    it. Seems like a fine way to keep useful apps close at hand for quick launching.

    I usually make the Dock as small as possible, or close enough to it, and
    have a couple of dozen or so app icons on it. Works well for me!

    That's what the Launcher used to do - except that the icons could be
    arranged logically according to your needs and they had names so you
    could see instantly what they were.

    The Windowshade was activated by double-clicking on the titlke bar of a
    window, the window just rolled up to reveal what was underneath but the
    title bar stayed exactly where it was. Double-clicking the title bar a
    second time rolled the window back down. Thus, if you wanted to see
    what was under a window you did a double-click and another double-click
    in exactly the same place; there was no need to open the dock and go
    searching through the icons to find out where your window had gone.

    If that system were re-introduced and the Dock abolished, it would be
    hailed as a great step forward in useability.


    --
    ~ Liz Tuddenham ~
    (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
    www.poppyrecords.co.uk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to Liz Tuddenham on Fri Jan 17 10:27:02 2025
    On 2025-01-16 13:08:54 +0000, Liz Tuddenham said:
    scole <[email protected]> wrote:
    In article <1r5zwor.15ub1rpf2vodeN%[email protected]d>,
    [email protected]d (Liz Tuddenham) wrote:

    <snip>

    I hate the Dock with a vengeance, it has spoilt the Mac platform for me.

    I first used a Mac in 2007, a MacBook running OSX Tiger, so I have only
    ever known the Dock really and, in honesty, I've never had a problem with
    it. Seems like a fine way to keep useful apps close at hand for quick
    launching.

    I usually make the Dock as small as possible, or close enough to it, and
    have a couple of dozen or so app icons on it. Works well for me!

    That's what the Launcher used to do - except that the icons could be
    arranged logically according to your needs and they had names so you
    could see instantly what they were.

    The Windowshade was activated by double-clicking on the titlke bar of a window, the window just rolled up to reveal what was underneath but the
    title bar stayed exactly where it was. Double-clicking the title bar a second time rolled the window back down. Thus, if you wanted to see
    what was under a window you did a double-click and another double-click
    in exactly the same place; there was no need to open the dock and go searching through the icons to find out where your window had gone.

    If that system were re-introduced and the Dock abolished, it would be
    hailed as a great step forward in useability.

    There are of course numerous features that keep being added to MacOS
    and have been since about System 7, many of the useless gimmicks. Some
    stay around and some disappear as quickly as they arrived. (Not just
    software either - the ridiculous Touch Bar on laptops quickly got
    removed again.)

    Personally I didn't like the Launcher, Launchpad, Spaces, Time Machine, Versions, and have never used any of them. I also very rarely used
    Windowshade or minimising windows (mostly accidentally). I also always
    turned off the silly things like squeeze-me button on the mouse
    whenever setting up a Mac for *anyone* since it was nothing but a
    source of confusion for the users.

    Everyone is different. Nobody says you have to use a feature. There are
    often different ways of achieving something and working on the computer.

    Realistically the MacOS Dock isn't going anywhere any time soon.
    Windowshade can be added by third-party apps (although some reviews say
    they don't work very well, but I've never used them).

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bud Frede@21:1/5 to Your Name on Fri Jan 24 21:06:07 2025
    Your Name <[email protected]> writes:


    Another option is pressing Command-spacebar and then start typing the
    app's name. If Spotlight's first choice isn't the correct one, you can
    keep typing more letters or use the arrow keys to pick from the options.

    I've found that LaunchBar is better at this than Spotlight is. In fact,
    I almost never use Spotlight. Alfred could be another good choice, and
    I've talked to people that prefer Quicksilver for this.

    I always launch apps from the keyboard with LaunchBar. It's more
    convenient for me than having to use the mouse.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to Bud Frede on Sat Jan 25 18:07:38 2025
    On 2025-01-25 02:06:07 +0000, Bud Frede said:
    Your Name <[email protected]> writes:

    Another option is pressing Command-spacebar and then start typing the
    app's name. If Spotlight's first choice isn't the correct one, you can
    keep typing more letters or use the arrow keys to pick from the options.

    I've found that LaunchBar is better at this than Spotlight is. In fact,
    I almost never use Spotlight. Alfred could be another good choice, and
    I've talked to people that prefer Quicksilver for this.

    I always launch apps from the keyboard with LaunchBar. It's more
    convenient for me than having to use the mouse.

    On my old Mac running MacOS 9.2 and X 10.2 I had the function keys
    set-up to run the usual apps (email, web browser, Usenet app, etc.).
    After booting I just had to press F1, F2, and F3 to get them all
    running. I could ouf course had them as startup items, but didn't want
    to run them every time the Mac was started up.

    I haven't bothered on this newer Mac with MacOS X 10.13. It's just as
    easy to use the Dock icons.

    For an app I use only occasionally, I use the Command-spacebar or open
    up the Applications folder.

    In most other cases I'm usually opening a document to work on by double-clicking and it opens the appropriate app anyway.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bud Frede@21:1/5 to Your Name on Tue Feb 4 14:52:22 2025
    Your Name <[email protected]> writes:

    On 2025-01-25 02:06:07 +0000, Bud Frede said:
    Your Name <[email protected]> writes:
    Another option is pressing Command-spacebar and then start typing
    the
    app's name. If Spotlight's first choice isn't the correct one, you can
    keep typing more letters or use the arrow keys to pick from the options.
    I've found that LaunchBar is better at this than Spotlight is. In
    fact,
    I almost never use Spotlight. Alfred could be another good choice, and
    I've talked to people that prefer Quicksilver for this.
    I always launch apps from the keyboard with LaunchBar. It's more
    convenient for me than having to use the mouse.

    On my old Mac running MacOS 9.2 and X 10.2 I had the function keys
    set-up to run the usual apps (email, web browser, Usenet app,
    etc.). After booting I just had to press F1, F2, and F3 to get them
    all running. I could ouf course had them as startup items, but didn't
    want to run them every time the Mac was started up.

    I haven't bothered on this newer Mac with MacOS X 10.13. It's just as
    easy to use the Dock icons.


    ⌘-space and type "ff" for firefox. "mi" for my mail client. "si" for
    signal. I rarely start an app with an icon on the Dock. I like to keep
    my hands on the keyboard and not keep one hand on the mouse.

    I use Stage Manager on this Mac but not on my work Mac. I have different workflows for each and use them a bit differently.

    It's good that we have plenty of options though. I'm glad that you've
    found something comfortable for yourself. :-)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to Bud Frede on Wed Feb 5 10:13:58 2025
    On 2025-02-04 19:52:22 +0000, Bud Frede said:
    Your Name <[email protected]> writes:
    On 2025-01-25 02:06:07 +0000, Bud Frede said:
    Your Name <[email protected]> writes:
    Another option is pressing Command-spacebar and then start typing
    the
    app's name. If Spotlight's first choice isn't the correct one, you can >>>> keep typing more letters or use the arrow keys to pick from the options. >>> I've found that LaunchBar is better at this than Spotlight is. In
    fact,
    I almost never use Spotlight. Alfred could be another good choice, and
    I've talked to people that prefer Quicksilver for this.
    I always launch apps from the keyboard with LaunchBar. It's more
    convenient for me than having to use the mouse.

    On my old Mac running MacOS 9.2 and X 10.2 I had the function keys
    set-up to run the usual apps (email, web browser, Usenet app,
    etc.). After booting I just had to press F1, F2, and F3 to get them
    all running. I could ouf course had them as startup items, but didn't
    want to run them every time the Mac was started up.

    I haven't bothered on this newer Mac with MacOS X 10.13. It's just as
    easy to use the Dock icons.

    ⌘-space and type "ff" for firefox. "mi" for my mail client. "si" for signal. I rarely start an app with an icon on the Dock. I like to keep
    my hands on the keyboard and not keep one hand on the mouse.

    I use Stage Manager on this Mac but not on my work Mac. I have different workflows for each and use them a bit differently.

    It's good that we have plenty of options though. I'm glad that you've
    found something comfortable for yourself. :-)

    If you're *really* mouse-averse, you can use MacOS using just the
    Terminal, but you would have to find Unix commandline equivalents to
    all the regular apps you use. :-)

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  • From Your Name@21:1/5 to All on Thu Feb 6 19:12:00 2025
    I don't know how many, if any, of these work on older versions of MacOS
    X, but someone has created a Google spreadsheet comparing 7 different launchers:

    - Alfred
    - Raycast
    - LaunchBar
    - Monach
    - Apple Spotlight
    - Quicksilver
    - LeaderKey

    <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JqyglRJXzxaj8OcQw9jHabxFUdsv9iWJXMPXcL7On0M>

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