Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Cool tools, Odds and ends, Open Source
Quicksilver goes open source with Leopard release
It seems like this news has been around for a while, but we'd never heard it, and it's definitely worth taking a look at. Alcor, developer of Quicksilver, the little launcher that does everything, quietly mentions on the Blacktree forums that Quicksilver will go open source and Leopard only with the next release.What does that mean for Quicksilver's users? Probably not a lot, although with a few interested developers on board, it'll probably mean quicker updates and more responsive bugfixes. Even Alcor says in the thread that while bugfixes and updates are planned for Leopard, he has no idea when they'll actually be released, and an open source app would probably make specific fixes faster.
As for a timeline on making it open source, Alcor doesn't promise anything too exciting on that end, either. He does say that the OS version of Quicksilver will be for Leopard, so we're looking at least at October, if not later. But if Quicksilver is going open source, it likely means that one of the Mac's best applications will only get better.
[ via DJ ]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Viking said 12:24PM on 8-09-2007
I've only started to use quicksilver and love it but hate the double-indexing with spotlight. Is there a way to get quicksilver to use spotlight's existing and updated index instead of it's own?
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serenity said 12:25PM on 8-09-2007
AWESOME. That is all.
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jack.givens said 12:42PM on 8-09-2007
I love Quicksilver. I agree that it is a waste to have spotlight and quicksilver databases but it is a great tool.
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Hans said 1:11PM on 8-09-2007
This is great. Quicksilver was one of the reasons to get a Mac. Why didn’t Apple buy it and make it part of Leopard? Cheapskates.
@#2: So you have to indexes, but that doesn’t hurt anybody. I like that.
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Andrew said 1:18PM on 8-09-2007
I'm confused. The linked thread doesn't say anything about QS going open source. One user says he prefers using open source software, but Alcor's response is essentially this: "I wouldn't get too excited. There certainly will be a small bug fix release for Leopard, but I can't really offer any good estimates on when or if anything more will be released."
That hardly amounts to an announcement of "going open source". Or is there another thread where this was actually discussed?
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alcor said 1:32PM on 8-09-2007
Sorry. I edited the thread slightly to clarify my position. Check the last post in the thread.
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David said 1:56PM on 8-09-2007
I don't think Apple would add QS to OS X because they like to keep things simple. Heck, that is why so many people love Macs. QS is the tool of geeks (myself included). I'm an absolute QS junkie and have even posted screencasts on it at www.macsparky.com
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Simon Arch said 2:13PM on 8-09-2007
Remember SuperClock? I bet a few people here do. In System 6 SuperClock was a CDEV (Control Panel for you newbies) which did one very simple thing: it put a clock in the Menu Bar. That's it. It was staggeringly popular, and so Apple bought it and integrated it into the system. It was so simple and so obviously needed and so popular that it made SENSE for Apple to buy it and integrate it into the system.
Quicksilver is no SuperClock. There's no question that it's popular (either that or it's got a small but very vocal user base), but it's neither as simple nor as obvious as SuperClock was. It doesn't make any sense for Apple to buy and integrate it. And even if they did, what makes you think they wouldn't gut it to make it easier and more accessible to novice users?
It's better off as it is - an optional add-on. It'll be even better if it does go open source.
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Luigi193 said 3:07PM on 8-09-2007
I personally like launchbar,
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Hans said 3:46PM on 8-09-2007
Oh and i forgot: Shame on those Apps that don’t yet have Quicksilver Plugins.
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rc said 7:14PM on 8-09-2007
Yeah! That's super cool news. This program is so good, ... it has to be open source :-).
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matt said 9:37AM on 9-08-2007
In Alcor's address to google on quicksilver (found at 43 folders and Googlevideo), he is demo-ing quicksilver on leopard, so I doubt the release will take long.
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Simon Arch said 1:14AM on 9-14-2007
Speaking of the Google video - if, like me, Quicksilver's charms have thus far eluded you, WATCH THIS VIDEO. It's worth the time I FINALLY have a grip on what the thing's about, even if I don't think I'll use it.
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