Filed under: Software, Productivity
Quicksilver Cube interface - "beautiful" doesn't do justice
Now that you have a Quicksilver cheatsheet and manual, check out one of the most beautiful UI plugins I've seen for this app: the Cube Interface. Tim Gaden at Hawk Wings has put together a short video of the interface in action, catching the drool-inducing eye candy in all its glory.
I'm not sure if this interface is only available to the Quicksilver developer build versions or not, as I am running the same version he is. If this is the case and you're still eager to take the plunge though, you can enable and access this version from Quicksilver's Application preference tab. However, if you're just getting used to this app or prefer stability over new features and eye candy like this, I'd recommend waiting until the Quicksilver crew brings this more mainstream.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Samuel McConnell said 4:13PM on 6-27-2006
I like Bezel better.
Reply
taxman said 5:00PM on 6-27-2006
I saw the cube effect upon setup but have yet to see it since. Does the cube effect appear at any other time?
Reply
Rodrigo Hernndez de la Guardia said 5:12PM on 6-27-2006
It appears if you have the iTunes notifier with the default QS notifier.
If you change the song while the notifier is still showing it changes using a cube [this is in B48]
Reply
Steve said 5:17PM on 6-27-2006
The more eye candy and bloat Quicksilver adds, the happier I am using the faster and leaner LaunchBar.
Reply
hudgie said 5:24PM on 6-27-2006
After having QS asking to update twice this week, I decided to check out any new features. I enabled the 'cube interface' as soon as I saw it. It's really cool.
Reply
aaa said 5:28PM on 6-27-2006
no. it's not cool.
i'll stick with the "window"-interface.
Reply
Allan White said 5:33PM on 6-27-2006
How is QS bloated? I've never seen any performance problems. I could agree that it is packed with many features I don't use, but that's where the plug-in architecture is a beauty - don't install plug-ins you don't need, keep it lean (really only an intellectual exercise).
I like Bezel. I like being able to see the entire "selection" (A > B > C). That, and it looks like Cube is hollow on the bottom, which bugs me.
A Mac without Quicksilver just isn't a Mac, to me.
Reply
b352 said 5:53PM on 6-27-2006
Hmm, I just installed the plugin. Nevertheless it says
"Error. Requires build 3774"
Reply
chad said 7:21PM on 6-27-2006
I got it installed, but how on earth do I turn it on?
Reply
Roger Wong said 7:53PM on 6-27-2006
For all you QS users, I have a question: Is it still a memory hog?
The last time I used it, I used it for about a week, but didn't really take to it. Plus I noticed that it was hogging a lot of memory.
Full disclosure: I've been using LaunchBar for years and love it. But all this buzz about QS makes me want to investigate.
Reply
Steve said 8:11PM on 6-27-2006
I used LB, then switched to QS which seemed faster and more polished..but then it started getting bloated and slowed down imo. I tested LB 4.1, and it was like nirvana; so fast, so lean, and a simple, minimal UI.
QS is great, don't get me wrong, and if you like all the doo-dads and plugs ins, thats cool too. I just want a slick, fast launcher and LB does the trick for me.
Reply
David Chartier said 9:11PM on 6-27-2006
Quicksilver can get as bloated or lean as you want; that's one of the beauties of it. Its install-able capabilities really are unmatched by any of the competition, but if you don't want any of those extra plugins or eye candy or this feature or that doodad - then you don't have to install them.
Reply
Josh VH said 10:17PM on 6-27-2006
You have to enable Development versions of quicksilver on the main settings page. Then download the plugin and enable it on the interface pane. While its cool, I still prefer the default Primer interface. And for those of you who say its slow, your obviously doing something wrong because I have mine set to find ALL applications, and all the extras you can imagine and its still instantaneous.
Reply
josue salazar said 10:19PM on 6-27-2006
It's nice and all, but it doesn't top the flashlight interface.
Reply
Angel said 10:57PM on 6-27-2006
Quicksilver is hardly bloated....you do have the option of not installing many aspects of the program if you insist on believing it's bloatware. Personally, I love having all the options available and have never experienced any slowdown because of it.
Reply
David Chartier said 11:30PM on 6-27-2006
#15: Check the 'cheatsheet and manual' link I put in the post for some quick rundowns and intro tutorials of how much faster you can work with an application launcher and file manipulator like Quicksilver.
To try and briefly summarize it: Quicksilver allows you to control your Mac and your files from the comfort and efficiency of your keyboard.
Reply
Adam Rice said 11:10AM on 6-28-2006
Tried the "cube." Looks cool, but is less functional than the classic bezel, IMO.
For those asking about bloat: one of the key factors that can bloat QS is not so much the plugins as the catalog. This is a bit more obscure, but QS's catalog is basically the list of everything that it looks at (files, apps, etc). If you find that QS is running slow, get in and try trimming stuff out of the catalog you're confident you won't need to access via QS.
In the current version, bring up Preferences, click Catalog at the top, click the little "i" button at the bottom (important but easy to miss), click the "contents" tab in the new drawer, and then start clicking on the various catalog sources in the left sidebar.
Reply
Keith said 11:15AM on 6-28-2006
That is nowhere cool. I'll prefer to stick to windows instead.
Reply
David Chartier said 11:18AM on 6-28-2006
#18: Good call. You can also cut down how often QS scans the catalog too; I've set mine to daily instead of the default 10 minutes (As far as I can tell, 'Daily' also means that QS will run a scan after each restart, whether your last restart was over a day or 15 minutes ago). This technique also works well to trim down the catalog that Spotlight keeps an eye on as well.
Reply
RealMonster said 12:10PM on 6-28-2006
I hadn't been running the development version, but now I'm glad that I installed it. I rather like some of the other interfaces available, like the menubar one.
Reply