Danny Gorog12 October 2007, 2:02 AM
Competition in the application launcher space just got a little bit hotter with the release of a new Mac OS X app called Sapiens.
Competition in the application launcher space just got a little bit hotter with the release of a new app called Sapiens by Donelleschi Software. Instead of using key combinations, Sapiens is activated by moving your mouse in a circle.
 Sapiens presents applications in a consistent, circular launcher window which is apparently good for Kinesthetic Memory |
Once Sapiens launches, it intelligently predicts the application you are most likely to need. Unlike Quicksilver, Sapiens is only an application launcher and doesn’t offer much in the way of customisation or scriptability.
Like other application launchers, practice makes perfect. You've got to commit yourself to the application before you'll see any efficiency gains from use. Whereas Quicksilver is all about the keyboard, Sapiens is all about the mouse. My hunch is that 'power-users' who are the likely users of 3rd party application launchers are more likely to be keyboard rather than mouse junkies. Luckily, Sapiens caters for keyboard use as well.
 The preference pane lets you customise Sapiens, and choose how the launcher works |
According to the developer the average Mac user has about a hundred applications, of which only about a third are used occasionally, and ten used regularly. Sapiens learns which programs you use and presents them to you in an well ordered, logical fashion which makes selecting an application easier. There's also lots of talk on the website about 'Kinesthetic Memory' which is a form of learning in which your body passively remembers gestures and actions by performing them. The theory goes that if you present applications in the same area on the screen you’ll instinctively access them faster.
I've had a brief play with Sapiens and like it enough to leave it installed and give it a fair go. One feature I particularily like is the ability to drag-and-drop a file on to an application in the Sapiens launcher window. For example, if I want to open an MS Word document on the desktop with another application (like TextEdit or Pages) you simply pick up the file, move your mouse in a circle and then drop the file on to the application in the Sapiens launcher window. It's actually pretty cool. Also, if you move your mouse in a circle once the Sapiens window is already open it will show you all your running applications as well.
Sapiens 1.0 is an unrestricted shareware release however registration will cost you $19.95USD or $50USD for a family pack.