Don’t get me wrong, I think the mouse was probably the greatest innovation in computing since the silicon chip, but for a power user it’s really the slowest form of input.  Taking your hands off the keyboard to reach for your mouse takes easily 500 ms of time, if you’re fast.  Add to that the time to actually find the cursor (no small feat on high resolution screens), and the time to find and click on that one tiny icon you need, and you’re talking some serious productivity cramping.  Of course, you could always be one of those *nix rebels who refuse to use any graphical environment, but what’s the fun of using bash, VI and command-line compilers for the rest of your days?

别误会，我认为鼠标可能是自硅芯片以来在计算方面最伟大的创新，但是对于高级用户来说，这实际上是最慢的输入形式。 如果速度很快的话，将手从键盘上移开可以很容易地花费500毫秒的时间。 再加上实际找到光标的时间(在高分辨率屏幕上可算是一项壮举)，以及找到并单击所需的那个小图标的时间，并且您正在谈论严重的生产力瓶颈。 当然，您可能永远是拒绝使用任何图形环境的* nix反叛者之一，但是在余下的日子中使用bash，VI和命令行编译器有什么乐趣呢？

The ultimate solution is of course to use the mouse as little as possible within your lush, translucent-window-bordered environment.  And since launching applications is a key part of anyone’s workflow, the ability to accomplish this task mouse-less is a big step in the right direction.

最终的解决方案当然是在郁郁葱葱，半透明的窗口边界环境中尽可能少地使用鼠标。 由于启动应用程序是任何人的工作流程的关键部分，因此无需鼠标即可完成此任务的能力是朝着正确方向迈出的一大步。

Fortunately, every major operating system now offers a way to do this easily and quickly.  In fact, these mechanisms are flexible enough to even launch documents, pictures and even emails (depending on settings).  We’ll start with Windows Vista:

幸运的是，现在每个主要的操作系统都提供了一种轻松快捷地执行此操作的方法。 实际上，这些机制足够灵活，甚至可以启动文档，图片甚至电子邮件(取决于设置)。 我们将从Windows Vista开始：

Hit the Windows Meta key (the one with the Windows logo on it).  The start menu should pop-up and the search field will get the keyboard focus.  You should be able to type just the first few characters of the application you wish to launch and it will be automatically highlighted in the search results.  In the screenshot, I typed “vmware” and the selected result is “VMware Workstation”.  Hitting Enter launches the application.  If the text you typed is a command available in your PATH, Windows will automatically run that command rather than executing any search results.  Thus, I can hit Meta, type “ping /t” and hit Enter and that fancy-schmacy DOS window pops up showing me my scrolling ping.

点击Windows Meta键(上面带有Windows徽标的键)。 开始菜单应弹出，并且搜索字段将获得键盘焦点。 您应该只键入要启动的应用程序的前几个字符，它将在搜索结果中自动突出显示。 在屏幕快照中，我输入了“ vmware”，选择的结果是“ VMware Workstation”。 点击Enter启动应用程序。 如果您键入的文本是PATH中可用的命令，则Windows将自动运行该命令，而不执行任何搜索结果。 因此，我可以按一下Meta键，输入“ ping / t”，然后按Enter键，弹出奇特的DOS窗口，显示我的滚动ping。

This, I think, is one of the few features which really makes Vista worth the upgrade.  Windows will even “learn” (a fancy word for statistical analysis) from your choices based on search text and properly rank the search results in future.  For example, after typing “live” a sufficient number of times and selecting the second result, Windows Live Writer, Windows eventually ranks Windows Live Writer at the top of the list.

我认为，这是使Vista值得升级的少数功能之一。 Windows甚至会根据搜索文本从您的选择中“学习”(用于统计分析的花哨词)，并在以后适当地对搜索结果进行排名。 例如，在键入“ live”足够的次数并选择第二个结果Windows Live Writer之后，Windows最终将Windows Live Writer排在列表的顶部。

Of course, this feature was more or less copied from a feature Mac has had for a while now, Spotlight.  Ironically, I think the Windows copy of Spotlight is better done, but that’s another issue…

当然，此功能或多或少是从Mac已有的Spotlight功能复制而来的。 具有讽刺意味的是，我认为Spotlight的Windows副本做得更好，但这是另一个问题……

By default, Spotlight is activated with the Command+Space (sometimes referred to as Apple+Space, since the key usually has an Apple Inc. logo).  Hitting this key combo drops down the menu from the upper right-hand side and allows you to type search text.

默认情况下，Spotlight是使用Command + Space(有时称为Apple + Space，因为该键通常具有Apple Inc.徽标)激活的。 按下此组合键会从右上角下拉菜单，并允许您键入搜索文本。

As you can see from the screenshot, Spotlight searches applications, Dashboard widgets, System Preference panes, documents, and finally (clipped by the screenshot) all files.  If the text “itunes” had matched any of my emails in Apple Mail, those would have been found as well.  As would have any pictures in iPhoto, any songs in iTunes, and so on.  Apple’s outstanding application integration is really apparent in this feature, but the price is that the search is a bit slower than the Windows Vista clone.  Also, the Top Hit (in this case, the iTunes application) isn’t selected by default.  This means that we need to hit the Spotlight key combo, type our search text, hit the down arrow (moving our hands), and then hit the Return key to activate the result.  A bit less convenient than just typing and hitting Enter.

从屏幕截图中可以看到，Spotlight搜索应用程序，仪表板小部件，“系统偏好设置”窗格，文档，最后是所有文件(由屏幕截图限制)。 如果文本“ itunes”与我在Apple Mail中的任何电子邮件匹配，则也将找到这些电子邮件。 就像iPhoto中的任何图片，iTunes中的任何歌曲等等。 Apple出色的应用程序集成在此功能中确实很明显，但代价是搜索速度比Windows Vista克隆慢一些。 另外，默认情况下也不会选择“热门歌曲”(在本例中为iTunes应用程序)。 这意味着我们需要点击Spotlight键组合，键入搜索文本，点击向下箭头(移动我们的手)， 然后点击Return键以激活结果。 比仅键入并单击Enter方便一些。

Not to be left out, Gnome2 does include a gpanel applet called “Deskbar” which offers identical functionality to the Mac Spotlight.  As with Spotlight, you can activate the deskbar by a key combo, and then enter the appropriate search text within.  Deskbar will consider the search for a moment, and then return any applications contained within the Gnome menu, any files, etc.  However, my favorite bit is that if you don’t select any results manually (again, using the arrow keys), Deskbar will attempt to execute the specified text as a command.  Thus, like in Vista I can simple type “java -jar ~/MyApp.jar” and away the app goes.

值得一提的是，Gnome2确实包含一个名为“ Deskbar”的gpanel小程序，它提供与Mac Spotlight相同的功能。 与Spotlight一样，您可以通过组合键激活桌面栏，然后在其中输入适当的搜索文本。 Deskbar会考虑一下搜索，然后返回Gnome菜单中包含的所有应用程序，任何文件等。但是，我最喜欢的一点是，如果您没有手动选择任何结果(再次使用箭头键)， Deskbar将尝试作为命令执行指定的文本。 因此，就像在Vista中一样，我可以简单地键入“ java -jar〜/ MyApp.jar”，然后应用程序就消失了。

Unfortunately, by default deskbar is a) not added to the panel, and b) not bound to a sane keyboard sequence (Alt+F3 is rather difficult to hit).  Adding deskbar to the panel is as simple as right clicking the panel, selecting “Add to Panel…” and then choosing “Deskbar”.  Rebinding the keyboard shortcut is almost as simple.  Right click on the deskbar icon, choose “Preferences”.  Then select “View” and click on the “Keyboard shortcut to focus” field.  Now, press the key combo you wish to assign to deskbar.  Personally, I use Alt+Enter, but you can use whatever best fits your workflow.  (warning to Mac fans, Alt+Space doesn’t work)

不幸的是，默认情况下，桌面栏是：a)未添加到面板中，以及b)未绑定到理智的键盘序列(Alt + F3很难击中)。 在面板上添加桌面工具栏很简单，只需右键单击面板，选择“添加到面板...”，然后选择“桌面工具栏”。 重新绑定键盘快捷键几乎一样简单。 右击桌面栏图标，选择“首选项”。 然后选择“查看”，然后单击“键盘快捷键聚焦”字段。 现在，按要分配给桌面栏的组合键。 就个人而言，我使用Alt + Enter，但您可以使用最适合您的工作流程的东西。 (警告Mac粉丝，Alt + Space不起作用)

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