Windows or Mac – Launch applications or files the modern way

The NY Times’ David Pogue’s 2009 ‘Take Back the Beep‘ campaign is trying to get cell phone carriers to eliminate the lengthy messages that precede recording a voice message. My campaign is to change the way we launch applications or find files on our computers. I want you to learn to use the Windows’ built-in Search bar or the Mac’s Spotlight search technology. Once you start using these two similar tools you are unlikely to return to the old way. Sorry Windows XP users this does not apply.

Do you still launch an application from an icon? If you use Windows 7 or Vista do you click on a desktop icon, a Quick Launch toolbar icon, or search through the Start menu’s All Programs listing? If you use a Mac running OS X Leopard or Snow Leopard, do you launch programs from an application icon on the Mac Dock, or do you open a Finder window and manually search the Applications folder? Alternatively, do you look through your documents, pictures, or music folders to find a file that you want to edit, view or play?

Spotlight and Windows Search are similar search technologies that provide lightning fast results when we search our computers. They do this by indexing your hard drive ahead of time so that when you want to find Microsoft Word the computer already knows where to find it.

Try it out. You will see what I mean. If you are using Windows 7 or Vista, click on the Start button or press the Windows key. Your computer’s focus is immediately placed in the Search bar. Type "word" and it will probably show you a list that includes Microsoft Word and WordPad. Select one or the other, using the cursor keys, and press the Enter key and the program starts.

Use a Mac? Click the magnifying glass icon on the upper right of the Menu bar or press  Apple key+space and the system focus moves to the Spotlight search bar. Type "word" and it will probably show you a list that includes Microsoft Word as the Top Hit. Press the return key and Microsoft Word starts.

Microsoft Word is a trivial example since most of you have Desktop, Taskbar or Dock shortcuts already set up. Try it with another application or document you use less frequently. Type "char" in the Windows Start menu Search bar and you will see Character Map as the first result. If you use a Mac type "text" in the Spotlight search bar. You will immediately see TextEdit as the Top Hit. I doubt that either of these two utilities reside on your Desktop, Dock or Taskbar.

Your old way of launching applications from icon shortcuts have deficiencies. If you have too many Quick Launch icons in Vista or pin too many applications to the Window 7 Taskbar you end up with visual clutter.

The desktop is a poor place to locate application shortcuts. It is almost always covered by open windows on Window or Mac computers. So you need to move or minimize your open windows in order to see the icon.

The Mac Dock is a horrendous waster of vertical screen space, a precious resource on wide screen monitors. Most people leave the Dock at the default location on the screen bottom. If it were not there you gain 15-20% more useable screen space. You can auto-hide it or move it to the side of the screen or both. But if you start using Spotlight to launch applications you can do away with it altogether. You lose the eye candy but you gain significantly in productivity