Objective Development has released LaunchBar 3.1.1 for Mac OS X, a keyboard driven productivity utility that “provides lightning fast access to thousands of files, Web bookmarks, email-addresses, and applications just by entering short abbreviations,” according to Norbert Heger, author of the software.
LaunchBar sits in the background, awaiting your orders, he said. You just hit Command-Space to attract its “attention,” enter a short, abbreviated description of what you’re looking for, and it immediately offers the best matching choice from a list of thousands of possibilities, Heger said.
“This list and the corresponding abbreviations do not need to be configured manually,” he explained. “LaunchBar uses a very powerful, adaptive abbreviation search algorithm that allows you to enter any thinkable abbreviation of the searched item. LaunchBar automatically analyzes the user’s behavior and adapts the rating criteria dynamically. Therefore the search results become more accurate the more you use LaunchBar. It simply learns from the user’s habits.”
LaunchBar offers activation using a system wide hotkey, the ability to switch between open applications, and file system browsing. For more info go to the product Web site. It’s also now available for download. The free, built in evaluation license is “sufficient for occasional use” and allows to access a maximum of seven different items per session, Heger said. Those items can be accessed without any restriction, and even if the session limit is exceeded, it’s possible to open 10 further items, he added. The LaunchBar business license is US$39 per seat. A home user license, restricted to non-commercial, non-profit use, is available for $19.95 per user.