That and the security aspect. One way to keep stuff secure is to make yourself a small target. Any big cloud archive with thousands or millions of users is a big fat target and my data may get swept up in a massive breach. Distributed systems are inherently more secure than silo or concentrated systems just because it dilutes the efforts of the people/agents/governments trying to penetrate them. That goes for data security, physical security and more.
Keyboard Maestro might have a place if it replaced typinator and hazel but so far not enough verification of that for me to spend the time to test it out. I did get MacSparky’s course on KM as I’ll probably be able to tell by his stuff whether it would work for me but haven’t watched it yet. Ditto for his Shortcuts guide. I’m head down on a major programming project in LambTracker and anyting else is being shoved to the side. I have to get most of it done by 19 April, that’s the due date for lambing to start and after that I know my brain will not be in programming mode until the ewes are done lambing, which will not be until June. I’ll probably watch the MacSparky guides then as that is just the sort of useful but easy to stop and start task I need during lambing.
As for Alfred, I just plain don’t get it. I never use Spotlight other than the occasional search for a file with something in the filename. I never listen to music, it’s too distracting so our only iTunes use is to load music onto a USB stick for use in the car. I don’t even have music on my phone or other portable device. Typinator does plenty with text snippet expansion for what I need. I’ve never seen a use for the workflows that I see documented because they are for tools I don’t use like Evernote and YouTube. I don’t have a VOIP system and the plain contact app, although it has it’s shortcomings, is sufficient for my needs. I do a fair amount of work in terminal but I prefer to be explicit about that. So I have terminal on my Mac Dock and go there directly when I use it. So basically I see it as useless for me at this time. That could change but it’s going to have to be an overwhelming reason to switch.
Now my Dock has a lot in it, 70 apps at last count, but they are all in active use.
I would be lost without Alfred more than any other app, I think. It’s the one that feels most built-in because I use it so much.
Here’s are a few things I use Alfred for (besides as a keyboard app launcher, which I think would be worth it on its own to me):
Quick calendar entry. Workflows for both Fantastical and BusyCal to enter new events quickly and easily.
DEVONThink 3 document search without going into DT3.
Quick navigation of the finder. “Find filename.ext” to immediately jump to a folder with the file highlighted. Alfred does such a great job of learning that I seldom have to scroll down a list very far to find what I need. It’s also a LOT faster than Spotlight. Or if you type “Open filename,” Alfred opens the file instead of navigating to it in the Finder.
All this functionality is available somewhere in repositories online - I sure don’t know how to script any of it, I just Googled what I needed and found it.
I think you’d also come to appreciate Keyboard Maestro, @OogieM, but I owned it for years before I finally dug into @MacSparky’s field guide and started using it well. (And it’s still probably 80% untapped for me.)
I’m such a terrible typist that I don’t use keyboard shortcuts much. I typically have 2-3 apps open at a time and I batch stuff to do by app with a separate task list so I use the break between shutting one app down and starting up another as a chance to check my todo lists.
Don’t use either app. Calendar to me is a journal thing, documenting what I did. Not much is scheduled on my calendar for future stuff. Sheep rarely need to have a meeting with me.
That’s one app that is always up on my machine so it’s just a matter of clicking over to bring it forward (but I am exploring some of hte additional workspace options in Catalina) and searching.
Interesting use. I’m not sure how often I do that sort of task. The files I edit and work with a lot are on the top level of a folder that is always open on my desktop so Ic an just double click them easily. I do search for files containing some string of characters in the filename on occasion but Finder is plenty fast enough for that rare use case.
I do like hearing how people use the tools. I’m still unconvinced that it is really a benefit to me.
I use it as a superior replacement for Spotlight, and launch everything with Alfred instead of having apps in my (hidden) dock. You don’t need to be a good typist to type Command-Space and a letter or two for an app’s name.
I’m happy with built-in snippets in the apps I primarily use (Drafts, for example) in conjunction with the basic text replacement built into iOS. Also: the current Pythonista beta offers a programmable keyboard, which allows for more powerful text insertions.
I never use Spotlight other than the occasional search for a file with something in the filename. I never listen to music, it’s too distracting so our only iTunes use is to load music onto a USB stick for use in the car. I don’t even have music on my phone or other portable device. Typinator does plenty with text snippet expansion for what I need. I’ve never seen a use for the workflows that I see documented because they are for tools I don’t use like Evernote and YouTube. I don’t have a VOIP system and the plain contact app, although it has it’s shortcomings, is sufficient for my needs. I do a fair amount of work in terminal but I prefer to be explicit about that. So I have terminal on my Mac Dock and go there directly when I use it. So basically I see it as useless for me at this time. That could change but it’s going to have to be an overwhelming reason to switch.