LaunchBar
June 1st, 2007 by PhoeniX42
Rating: 4/5
General Info: LaunchBar is more than an app launcher. Just like Quicksilver and Butler, LaunchBar can open, show, and do other quick tasks to apps and files. Out of the three, I find LaunchBar to be slightly faster. The main benefits I see from LaunchBar is the fact that the latest version will run on Panther (10.3) and LaunchBar’s ease of use. Otherwise, I personally prefer Quicksilver for it’s vast configurability. What’s great about this app is the fact that there’s little configuration to be done before LaunchBar is usable. It certainly is the easiest launcher, with any power, to setup and modify.
LaunchBar would be a popular contender, for this kind of utility market, were it free like Butler and Quicksilver. Despite this, LaunchBar has a lot of uses, power, and usability. I’d recommend LaunchBar for people who don’t feel like spending hours configuring a launcher, but want more functionality than Butler. I think some major improvements in ease of use could be made to all apps in this category, but LaunchBar needs the fewest.
Retail Price: $19.95
