# Apple also stole Launchbar.



## senne (Jun 29, 2004)

Launchbar - Spotlight

Apple, you're not doing it right.


----------



## kendall (Jun 29, 2004)

senne said:
			
		

> Launchbar - Spotlight
> 
> Apple, you're not doing it right.



launchbar is the only other shareware app aside from konfabulator that i actually pay for.  it is so damn useful.

the people who develop launchbar have to be one of the oldest OS X developers, going all the way back to the NeXT OS.

it seems spotlight implements some sort of advanced metadata search engine differentiating it from launchbar some what.  it sits up in the corner like launchbar and does basically the same thing.

what a way for Jobs to thank their most loyal of fans, by putting them out of business after almost a decade.

looking at konfabulator and launchbar, i feel i already have Tiger 10.4.


----------



## mi5moav (Jun 29, 2004)

What, then launch bar stole the idea to put their icon in the menu bar. You've got to be joking me. Everyone seems to be looking at the book for its cover, and that is pathetic. If we didn't have people improving upon other peoples concepts we would still be in the dark ages. Damn, this place should have and IQ and EQ test before allowing people to post.

This is just like saying Ford, Chrysler, GM and thousands of others stole the idea for the car from Mercedez since they were the first to patent the idea. Heck, Mercedez stole the idea from someone Frenchman who invented the gasoline combustion engine 10 years but didn't have the forsight to patent it.


----------



## metfoo (Jun 29, 2004)

apple needs to integrate butler. I love that application. It truly completes OS X. I never liked the Konfabulator.


----------



## mindbend (Jun 29, 2004)

Apple has a long history of "stealing" ideas from the shareware or even commercialware world and implementing them. Windowshade and Sherlock are two quick examples. I'm sure if I thought about it, I could remember several more as could you guys.

I'm on the fence. On one level it sucks for developers who get shoved aside, but on the other hand I benefit by now having fully integrated features. Such is the life of a developer I guess.


----------



## serpicolugnut (Jun 29, 2004)

I know it must really suck to be the authors of either Konfabulator or LaunchBar today. But let's face facts. Apple didn't rip either off. Konfabulator's "widget" idea is nothing new. It is very similar to Apple Desktop Accessories, which were pre System 7. Also, DesktopX was available on Windows three years ago. Apple took an idea and integrated it. Microsoft does the same. It's the name of the game people.

As for LaunchBar...Although the concept is similar to that of Spotlight, the technology behind Spotlight is much more robust. This OS level "improvement" has been under development at Microsoft for years. This is one case of Apple stealing from Microsoft, and actually beating them to market with the product they ripped off. About damn time.

If you are a developer (on either Windows or Mac platforms) you have to be cognizant that at any time, the goliath (apple or MS) will take the general germ of your idea and assimilate it. Such is the case of software.


----------



## mi5moav (Jun 29, 2004)

The only people that should be ashamed is macosx.com forums they stole the idea of forums from other forum websites... unbelievable isn't it.


----------



## Randman (Jun 29, 2004)

I don't believe Konfab or LaunchBar were patented. Copying an idea isn't criminal, though it would have be a nice stroke if Apple did give some kind of credit where credit is due.


----------



## Randman (Jun 29, 2004)

Besides, no one claimed Konfabulator ripped off Apple when it introduced Konposé with 1.7.


----------



## mr. k (Jun 29, 2004)

Where were the people up and screaming when Apple put Fast User Switching into their OS, "surely it will ruin Microsoft's Windows Software..."

Ideas are ideas, and implementations are implementations.  If Konfabulator makes itself worth more then Dashboard, and remains worth the dollars that the developer charges for it, then people will buy it.  Otherwise there are always new ideas which can be had and developed and sold to the computer nerds who need them.

If I was Launchbar (or my favorite, Quicksilver) I would get my hands on the Spotlight SDK as fast as I can and figure out how to implement it to accomplish my goals.  Apple has said what they will be offering, take that and improve on it, or take a different angle and try to do something else.

It's not like apple is coming out with a product release which will stomp all over your offering - they are giving you a good years warning!  Take this time to improve your application and by the time Tiger comes out you will be able to kick the crap out of Spotlight or Dashboard or whatever.


----------



## hmurchison (Jun 29, 2004)

Konfabulator is kinda cool but it's still a solution in search of a problem.  Dashboards are fairly simplistic in use. I guess if they kill Konfab them it's  more of a reality that Konfab is a toy.  

Launchbar is cool but indexing has been around in search for a long time. I doubt their indexer is going to be as good as what's in Tiger. In the keynote Jobs pulls text from the map on a pdf as a seach criterion. That's amazing. 

Some tools will just end up being brought into the OS. As a developer if you have a product that can't be patented(probably meaning there is prior art) then you take that risk.  No on wants to pay extra for a RSS reader, the browser is the focal point of web browsing.  The way to differentiate yourself here is offer must have features that people are willing to pay extra for.  

Apple treats their developers fine. Out the the few that they compete with there are thousands upon thousands that they do not.  Pick and choose your projects carefully developers.


----------



## iZero (Jun 29, 2004)

mr. k said:
			
		

> Where were the people up and screaming when Apple put Fast User Switching into their OS, "surely it will ruin Microsoft's Windows Software..."
> 
> Ideas are ideas, and implementations are implementations.  If Konfabulator makes itself worth more then Dashboard, and remains worth the dollars that the developer charges for it, then people will buy it.  Otherwise there are always new ideas which can be had and developed and sold to the computer nerds who need them.
> 
> ...



good points.


----------



## hulkaros (Jun 29, 2004)

Spotlight and Dashboard (and most of Tiger's new features) are open technologies that anyone can utilize... Developers should start ASAP develop newer, better products instead of blah-blah and blah some more 

 AmeN 


----------



## ScottW (Jun 29, 2004)

mi5moav said:
			
		

> The only people that should be ashamed is macosx.com forums they stole the idea of forums from other forum websites... unbelievable isn't it.



And they ripped off the name macosx from Apple. Man... FREAKS!


----------



## chevy (Jun 29, 2004)

I'd love a Konfab that:
- uses less CPU
- is easily on-off

Therefore I shall most probably love Dashboard

And I'm already convinced that Spotlight will be a great innovation... if I can use it on my old 1 GHz G4.


----------



## JetwingX (Jun 29, 2004)

v,v 

ok it is going to be implemented weather you all like it or not, think it is fair or not, or care or not.

too bad launch bar and konfab are going to lose money/users just re-implement something above and beyond what apple has done and be sure to patent it next time

And that scott fella (you know... the one who made/hosts that mac site) he sure has some real nerve! If I ever get my hands on him ....


----------



## chevy (Jun 29, 2004)

Not sure the Konf team will loose money: they are the best Widget developers, so if they can sells widgets for Dashboard... they may make even more money !

Or they can even build/modify Konf so that it can re-use Dashboard widgets within another frame.


----------



## Salvo (Jun 29, 2004)

IIUC, Launchbar and Quicksilver use their own Proprietary Database, rather that HFS+
If Apple are ripping anyone off with Spotlight, it would be BeOS, but since Be Inc. is now no longer existent, Big deal.
Apple haven't ripped off LaunchBar or Quicksilver (which is better, IMHO), they have mearly re-implemented it using OS Specific Features. It's like saying Apple have ripped off PowerPoint with Keynote, or Acrobat with Preview.

Also, keep in mind that Konfab. is a Hack. What happens when you try to run Software Update when you have Hacks installed? It Fscks everything up. So what does Apple do? Re-implement the good features in Konfab so it isn't a hack; so that Software Update won't crap itself just because Johnny-Try-hard-Geek wants to clutter his Desktop with the  "AppleGeeks Comic Status Monitor".


----------



## hulkaros (Jun 30, 2004)

I think some guys from Be currently working at Apple on Spotlight...

 AmeN 


----------



## celeborn (Jun 30, 2004)

The virtual folder stuff was also a feature of Copland, Apple's failed project for a modern OS. It's nice to see something similar has finally been implemented.


----------



## Salvo (Jun 30, 2004)

hulkaros said:
			
		

> I think some guys from Be currently working at Apple on Spotlight...



Dominic designed HFS+. Previously he designed BeFS. He's currently working on Finder.
Pavel wrote most of the BeOS Tracker (equivalent to Finder/Explorer). He's currently working on Finder.

While Spotlight and the related features may not be as powerful as Tracker/BeFS, it will certainly be more user friendly. I prefer the Power Myself, so hopefully 3rd Party Developers develop a Power-Users Solution. A way to modify the Types of Attributes for each filetype, so users can make custom Filetypes like we used to do in BeOS.  That way, you could add things like "WordCount" to Word Documents, "Artist" and "Writer" to PNG Images (for Web Comics) and create a custom folder type "Album".


----------



## Captain Code (Jun 30, 2004)

You can listen to Rose complain live on the Your Mac Life radio show tonight
http://www.yourmaclife.com/

And it's true, BeOS had this same type of search a long long time ago.  This is nothing new, and neither is Konfabulator.  Apple's implementation of Spotlight is all completely automatic and will go out and index all your pdf files so you can search for text within the PDF file.  Same goes for text documents such as word docs.

The search is a huge index file which is automatically updated.  Guess what, Google has a huge index database of millions, or maybe billions of web pages.  

And Firefox copied the Google search box in the top right of the browser.  It's in the same spot and it looks almost the same    ::ha::


----------

