Is Sherlock dead?
Since 10.3 came out I feel like Sherlock was put on the back burner. This is when the Finder's search was separated from Sherlock (after being integrated). Now with spotlight I wonder if Sherlock will simply be removed from 10.4 altogether. Does anyone use sherlock on a regular basis?
Comments
I use Sherlock on occasion, mostly for movies, but I never quite got what was so exciting about it -- or Watson, for that matter.
Originally posted by Dogcow
Since 10.3 came out I feel like Sherlock was put on the back burner. This is when the Finder's search was separated from Sherlock (after being integrated). Now with spotlight I wonder if Sherlock will simply be removed from 10.4 altogether. Does anyone use sherlock on a regular basis?
The inclusion of spotlight doesn't lead to the removal of sherlock, those are two different functions. a_greer is right, the widgets might replace sherlock. But who knows, the widgets seem to duplicate functionality as it is, so maybe they'll keep sherlock.
Why should we have to think what kind of information we are looking for?!?!
As for the sherlock3/watson, I believe that the app is really great in panther, with the organisation that was improved alot... unfortunatelly, the lack of international support is killing it, and the lack of channels developped by 3rd parties is killing it..
I would like to see good guitar tabs channels, lyrics finder, and movie, yellow pages for other countries...
Now, that doesnt mean Apple cant (or some third party) integrate the two fields while giving the option to search for websites only, rss only, or both. But leave the option to have two seperate search fields as well.
Originally posted by GreggWSmith
I have been using macs for over a year now and have never used Sherlock. What is it?
I've been using Macs for a LONG time (since 1986, in fact) - and never found a use for Sherlock. Sherlock is nothing more than a (US-only) utility to search many websites and search engines at once for information. It does this with "channels", which are plug-ins for Sherlock that tell it how to read the results that searches return from a particular search engine/site. (I'm new here - this is my first post on AppleInsider forums. I'm also a MacRumors member, and I'm 'wrldwzrd89' there too.)
Originally posted by GreggWSmith
I have been using macs for over a year now and have never used Sherlock. What is it?
If you haven't changed your Dock, then Sherlock has an icon there. Sherlock was originally a local search engine and also searched the Internet. As wrldwzrd89 said, it used plug-ins to access a number of major search engines and content-specific sites. With the advent of MacOS X, the local search function was removed from Sherlock. The Internet search function was enhanced. Greatly enhanced was the content specific information. Sherlock can now perform functions that were previously available using a collection of freeware, shareware, or not at all. Sherlock now has channels that provide a dictionary, a text translater, AccuWeather, NASA Picture of the Day, movie showtimes, stocks, telephone directory, and much, much more. Why don't you launch the utility and click around? You might like what you find.
I'm no programmer. Sherlock intrigued me, but I never found a way to tie it into any of my personal projects. And I would have had to hire a Sherlocker, since designing channels was not a job for the uninitiated.
Dashboard is an attempt to rectify this, by using html as a big part of widget design.
It's all well and good for Apple to give the Tiger preview to developers, but by Christmas 2004 Cupertino needs to have a Widget Designers site and manual, so hobbyists can use the interval between Christmas Day and New Year's productively.
Maybe they can tie widget design into the new visual Applescript too.
Done right, Dashboard will be the new Hypercard, creating a whole new field of hobbyist-programmers. If a lot of Dashboard widgets become readily available, Dashboard will be a real driving force for Tiger and iMac sales.
Keynote has its own fan sites. Whose going to start the first Dashboarders site with tutorials and open ideas for widgets?
Whose going to start the first Dashboarders site with tutorials and open ideas for widgets?
Already done. The Dashboarder
Expect more to come.
Originally posted by Dogcow
Since 10.3 came out I feel like Sherlock was put on the back burner. This is when the Finder's search was separated from Sherlock (after being integrated). Now with spotlight I wonder if Sherlock will simply be removed from 10.4 altogether. Does anyone use sherlock on a regular basis?
What's Sherlock?
A worthless app.
Dashboard may take over the stock ticker and weather report, but who wants to look up movie listings in an Expose dashboard? Since the answer is probably "no one", and yet Dashboard's API could be used to write such an app, my guess is that someone's going to abscond the API for another data mining app that will give Apple something to rip off for 10.5.
Basically, Sherlock 3 was a rip-off of Watson
Umm no it wasn't. Apple was working on Sherlock 3 at the same time Karelia was working on Watson. Hasn't it dawned on people why Dan Wood called it "Watson" Sherlock Holmes trusty partner. Why people keep perpetuating this lie is a mystery.
Originally posted by BuonRotto
Just to set the record straight on Watson versus Sherlock 3, Dan Wood knew Apple's intentions with Sherlock 3 during Watson's development, saw early builds and was even sought by Apple for a position in the company. Chase down some old stuff at Daring Fireball (I think some if it is referenced in more recent posts about Dashboard) for the "paper trail."
Here is the archived blog. I hope everyone reads this link. It sheds quite a bit of light on the Dashboard v. Konfabulator and the various other things Apple "ripped-off" from developers.
http://daringfireball.net/2004/06/da...s_konfabulator