78 Macworld • August 2019FEATURE
Every now and then I mention these utilities to
friends who are Mac users, or they see me using
them, and they are often completely baffled. This
reminds me that, quite shockingly, there are lots
of Mac users who never take advantage of utilities
to make the Mac far more powerful than it comes
out of the box.
Here, then, are some of the utilities that make
the Mac feel like home for me.Go beyond launching apps
A few years ago, there was a surge of utilities
that provided quick access to your Mac apps by
typing a few keystrokes. LaunchBar, Alfred, and
Quicksilver were the most prominent examples.
Then Apple came and (quite rightly) added quick
app launching to Spotlight, eliminating the
original reason all those other utilities existed.
No worries. The quick-launcher apps have
managed to stay relevant by adding all sorts
of other features. I know a lot of people who
rely on Alfred, but I’ve been a user of Objective
Development’s LaunchBar (€29, around £26,
from fave.co/2xLI2sB) for years and my Mac
feels empty without it.
Yes, I use LaunchBar to launch apps and
open files – its algorithm for guessing what
you’re looking for as you type is still superior to
Spotlight’s – but I’d have probably dumped it if
I hadn’t come to rely on so many other features.
I use LaunchBar to find the right emoji to insert
into an iMessage, make quick math calculations