Comments on: Search or Browse?

By: hombre

hombre — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 10:56:37 +0000

I was a browser, by way of FinderPop, in Classic Mac OS. I was not happy with OS X (no FinderPop, horrible Finder) until I discovered LaunchBar which completely changed how I use my computer. I actually use both LaunchBar and Quicksilver now. I am as deeply disappointed in the Spotlight interface as I have been in the OS X Finder, but I am hopeful that Path Finder (which in my opinion has never lived up to its promise) will rectify all that in version 4 by providing the interface for Spotlight that should have been there in the first place.

By: fling93

fling93 — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 20:03:32 +0000

In iTunes, I usually Party Shuffle my whole library (or use smart playlists to the same effect). I’ll occasionally browse, and rarely search. For mail, I have a couple of folders with rules, but the vast majority goes into the Inbox for the same reason as Jim Gaynor. In general, I tend to lean towards browsing instead of searching, but that seems to be changing gradually.

As for windows, I exclusively use cmd-tab to switch, closing the ones I’m not using. I do the same on MS Windows.

By: Elkit

Elkit — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 19:47:28 +0000

I’m a hybrid.

By: Rainer Brockerhoff

Rainer Brockerhoff — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:55:41 +0000

I’m a browser when I have time, a searcher when in a hurry (which is rare). Also a hider instead of a minimizer.
That said, in my Tiger test runs I found Spotlight quite useful. As soon as someone makes a metadata plugin for Eudora, to search for individual e-mails, I may use it a lot.

By: rich

rich — Sat, 23 Apr 2005 01:19:56 +0000

I am a smart playlist person

By: Rubin

Rubin — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:44:27 +0000

I was a hardcore browser, until I discovered Quicksilver. Now I just can’t wait for Spotlight… Quicksilver really opened my eyes to the world of searching.
That being said, for searching to be really efficient, you have to know exactly what you’re searching for. That is not always my case, so browsing remains very useful.
And by the way, I don’t think searching needs less organization than browsing. To get accurate results in your iTunes searches, you need to be very well organized with your MP3 tags! Same goes for iPhoto keywords.

By: Jim Gaynor

Jim Gaynor — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 15:55:24 +0000

I used to be a browser. I had folders and filters and didn’t understand how someone couldn’t front-load enough to maintain an organizational system of some sort.

Today, I can barely keep up with the amount of incoming information I need to manage. I have to search - there just isn’t a choice.

By: Jonas Rabbe

Jonas Rabbe — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 15:16:35 +0000

Definitely searcher. It’s only come out for real after the release of Mac OS X, however, and especially iTunes where I filter my day away. I for one can’t wait for Spotlight. The most annoying thing is that my current mail program doesn’t have very good search facilities (my mailbox has some attempts at sorting using folder and sub-folders, but the bulk of my email is simply in the mailbox itself).

By: Eric Albert

Eric Albert — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 07:06:28 +0000

I guess I must be kind of lame because at least as far as iTunes is concerned I’m neither a Browser nor a Searcher; I’m a Scroller. I never use the browse view and I often forget that the search field exists, so I just sort by album and then scroll through my library to find the one I’m looking for. Not the most efficient way to do it, I suppose, but it works.

By: Paul Turnbull

Paul Turnbull — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 03:18:47 +0000

Mostly a searcher but that came with Launchbar and iTunes. Prior to that I was a browser.

What I needed were good mechanisms for searches. I take the path of least resistance to what I want. Both iTunes and Launchbar (as well as Quicksilver and I presume Spotlight) provide faster access to the things I want than browsing.

I suppose if I knew the exact path to what I was looking for then I could browser there faster but my home folder is 10 Gigs not including my music. Trying to remember where anything is a waste to time and thought when usable search mechanisms can get me there faster and turn up things that I didn’t even remember were there.