Filed under: Software, Productivity, Beta Beat
LaunchBar 5 beta available now
File launchers -- programs that make it easy to launch applications or utilities from a few clicks on the keyboard -- are increasingly common Mac utilities. Although I don't personally use a separate launch utility (I use OS X's Spotlight), others here at TUAW have expressed their devotion to Quicksilver in the past. TUAW readers and bloggers have also expressed their love for Objective Development's LaunchBar. The company is furthering development of that application, and has recently announced the release of the beta version of LaunchBar 5.
This version of LaunchBar boasts a number of improvements, including a new application icon designed by Bonsai Studio, which is known for designing themes for RealMac Software's RapidWeaver.
Some of the featured improvements to LaunchBar 5 include:
• Clipboard: A clipboard history has been added, as well as adding items onto the clipboard without overwriting what is already on there.
• Quick Look and iCal support
• An improved calculator based on the Unix 'bc' tool, with the ability to be assigned to a keyboard shortcut.
• LaunchBar is now scriptable via AppleScript.
• Firefox 3 support, German localization, automatic software, and more.
LaunchBar 5 is not available for purchase yet, but you can download and enjoy and the beta until January 15, 2009. Single seat licenses will be available for € 24 (around $30), € 39 (around $50) and upgrades from previous versions will be available starting at € 9 (around $11). A license key for those who want to try out LaunchBar 4 during this beta period is also available. You need to be running OS X 10.4 or higher to use LaunchBar 5.
[via Macworld]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Castle said 4:40PM on 12-07-2008
I absolutely adore LaunchBar. I use it constantly and it's the very first thing I install on any Mac. Not sure if the update will be worth extra for, but it's great to see they're still committed to such a fantastic app!
Reply
flec65 said 5:27PM on 12-07-2008
LaunchBar 5 is a major upgrade with many cool new features that users were asking for a long time. For me, it's one the most impressive upgrade from any developper in recent years. Now I know why Obdev was so quiet in recent months. If LB keeps being as stable and fast as v4, this new version will seriously kick axxes.
Reply
Luigi193 said 6:20PM on 12-07-2008
Launchbar is my #1 favorite utility. It has never ONCE crashed in the 2 years I've used it. The beta is rock solid as well!
As much as I'm a huge open source supporter, I love launchbar enough to buy a license... great app!
Reply
Darren said 7:37PM on 12-07-2008
It uses too much RAM for something that sits in the background most of the time.
Reply
cristiana said 9:21PM on 12-07-2008
I have been using LaunchBar for years, and it is a great app. I use it to do so much, it is a pain to use a Mac without it installed.
Plus, their support is also top notch. I sent them an email about a problem I was having, and their response was that it was an issue with an Apple supplied library, but they supplied me with an AppleScript workaround. Then a week or so later I get an email from them with a non-as solution. I was surprised that they kept working on a solution even though it technically was solved.
Reply
mallzombie said 9:52PM on 12-07-2008
Any reason to switch from Quicksilver to this?
Reply
flec65 said 10:16PM on 12-07-2008
Two words: speed and stability.
For me, QS was so slow on Leopard that is was actually faster doing tasks by hand. It was also constantly crashing when doing other things than launching an app. My QS installation was almost bare bone, with minimum plugins and extras installed. And I also have the same problems on a Tiger machine at work. So I switched back to LaunchBar and was amazed by its speed, stability and elegance. I'm missing some features from QS but with the announcement of LB5 all this will be things of the past. As usual, YMMV, but I'm glad I switched to an app that is actively developped.
Sven said 1:48AM on 12-08-2008
Is there any feature matrix comparing Spotlight, QuickSilver and LaunchBar available? I have to admit that I am a QS user but never really looked an Spotlight...
Reply
Majormauser said 6:44AM on 12-08-2008
LB Has a Demo, QS and Butler are donationware. So just download them all try them out find out what you like ... kick the tires a little.
QS and Butler are very feature rich. And QS has some amazing plug-ins. While LB is lean, Fast, Stable and Learns what you are typing instantly. So the main feature Launching and finding apps and files is a much better experience.
Megan Lavey said 7:51AM on 12-08-2008
http://www.tuaw.com/2007/06/14/tuaw-podcast-26-file-launchers/
This is a podcast from mid-2007 where TUAW compared the features on several launcher applications. However, since there's been versions released since then, it's a bit out of date so I didn't include it in the main article. It's a subject that most likely will be revisited sometime in the future.
jmello said 4:08PM on 12-08-2008
No love for Namely? It's loads quicker than Quicksilver or Spotlight, and learns your most-used apps over time.
http://amarsagoo.info/namely/
I've emailed the developer several times and gotten swift replies, though one problem he never solved was the app showing up in the dock all the time. I modified the app to eliminate the dock icon, and changed the preferences to make it display when I press Shift-Enter, and it's perfect. However, I can't post my modified version because of licensing issues.
Reply
Gabriel Radic said 4:23AM on 12-08-2008
Butler is still the best launcher out there, despite its age.
http://www.manytricks.com/butler/
However, LB5 sure looks nice.
Here's to Butler 5, "coming soon" since forever now.
Reply
Majormauser said 6:33AM on 12-08-2008
Darran what are you talking about ? Is using 18MB is to much RAM? No because you just made a statement with no Facts.
Launchbar uses quite a bit less RAM than any of the other mentioned apps. Setup time.... is Zero in LaunchBar, With all the other Launchers since they all do other things take far longer to setup. LB integrates with Pathfinder quite nicely. While I love QS it just take to long to load and now Crashes more than ever..... it really needs an update. Its been a year since it went open source its never been updated.
I stuck with LB because of its speed and reliability
Reply
Curious John said 8:27AM on 12-08-2008
I use Quicksilver and use triggers a lot - I have 19 triggers, most of them run scripts that I've written. If there is something I do repetitively I tend to write Applescript for it and then connect it with a trigger.
Does Launchbar have triggers? I could easily switch, the state of Quicksilver development makes me uneasy and I'm currently using Ankur build 3814 because it is more stable for me than any of the recent Quicksilver builds.
Reply
Jash Sayani said 10:02AM on 12-08-2008
Why pay for Launchbar when Spotlight does it all and Quicksilver is the best when it comes to advanced tasks....
Reply