Filed under: Software, Productivity, Freeware
Isolator: Think Again

We recently mentioned Freeverse's Think, a little utility for helping you concentrate on one task by hiding away all the other windows besides the foreground application. Apparently somebody else liked the basic idea, but didn't quite like Freeverse's somewhat involved execution and so has whipped up a similar but more stream-lined utility called Isolator. Isolator sits in your menubar and, like Think, will isolate the windows of the foreground application by hiding all the others and bringing up a solid color shade over the desktop (though you can adjust the transparency of the shade and even set it so you can sill access the desktop icons). You can also set a hotkey to turn Isolator on and off (F8 by default). I like the idea of a menubar utility of this sort, but if there's anything I don't like about Isolator, it's that when you turn it off the applications it hid are still hidden.
Isolator is a free download, but the developer is requesting donations.
[Via MacApper]

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Tyler said 9:40AM on 2-26-2007
Have you seen Desktopple? (http://foggynoggin.com) It hides the Desktop, cleans unused windows, dims the menu bar, and tons more. I use it all day, every day.
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drg said 9:59AM on 2-26-2007
There's also [b]Doodim[/b] that works with a menu item -- but it was last updated Dec 2002, which means no Intel version, but the concept was there already for years.
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Ned said 10:45AM on 2-26-2007
"We recently mentioned Freeverse's Think, a little utility for helping you concentrate on one task by hiding away all the other windows besides the foreground application."
"Isolator sits in your menubar and, like Think, will isolate the windows of the foreground application by hiding all the others, and bringing up a solid color shade over the desktop (though you can adjust the transparency of the shade and even set it so you can sill access the desktop icons)."
"I like the idea of a menubar utility of this sort, but if there's anything I don't like about Isolator, it's that when you turn it off the applications it hid are still hidden."
PLEASE SPELLCHECK AND PROOFREAD!!!!!!!!!!
Please please please.
Please. Grammar mistakes hinder regular reading pace and flow, making it difficult to understand and forces the reader to stop and get confused. Reading posts like this is akin to nausea from a rollercoaster ride.
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Jonathan said 11:15AM on 2-26-2007
I use Spirited Away - same basic idea - and combine it with Backdrop to completely hide the chaos that is my desktop...
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Mike Harris said 11:48AM on 2-26-2007
That last one was grammatically acceptable, aside from it being a run-on.
"I like the idea of a menubar utility of this sort, but if there's anything I don't like about Isolator, it's that when you turn it off the applications it hid are still hidden."
I like the idea of a menubar utility of this sort.If there's anything I don't like about Isolator,it's that when you turn it off,the applications it hidare still hidden.
See?
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Mike Harris said 11:54AM on 2-26-2007
Well, that had line breaks in it before I posted. Point I was trying to make was that aside from it being a run-on, it was grammatically fine.
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