LaunchBar
LaunchBar is probably my second favorite/most used application. LaunchBar is like Spotlight on steroids. With LaunchBar, you never have to click through folders in search of the file you are looking for, and you will never have to open your “applications” folder again.
LaunchBar allows you to use a quick hot-key combo (default is command+space bar) to bring up a search bar. You type whatever you are looking for into the search bar and LaunchBar brings up a list of results. LaunchBar learns to find what you are you looking for based on what you type and what you select from the results. Additionally, LaunchBar allows you to type in different search queries to get the same result. For example, if you want to launch Microsoft Word you could type “Word,” “Microsoft,” or “MW.” Results are displayed in a list that can be navigated by the arrow keys or you can select the first result by hitting enter.
LaunchBar can even perform actions straight from LaunchBar such as searching websites (like google, wikipedia, imdb, etc.), creating new emails, creating iCal events, calculations, iTunes controls, and many others.
LaunchBar, like 1Password, is an application that you don’t realize what you are missing until you use the app. Using LaunchBar you will be more productive and spend less time trying to find the files you are looking for.
You can read more about LaunchBar, download a trial, or buy the app here.
