72
comments
18
Jan

“I Need More Space, Apple”. Hyperspaces: Review and Giveaway

Posted in reviews by Federico Viticci.


There are two features of Mac OS X I really couldn’t live without: Exposè and Spaces. Built-in into Leopard and Snow Leopard, Exposè and Spaces are indeed two applications that make managing all your open windows and workflows easier and painless. They’re not two “linked” apps, but basically everyone combines them in order to get the best results. If you don’t what Spaces and Exposè are, you should seriously take a tour into your Mac OS X Utilities folder and System Preferences. Sorry if don’t go into the details of these two apps, but I suppose you already know them.

Now, there’s a developer out there who thought Spaces could be a lot better. And by a lot I mean, a lot. Meet Hyperspaces: a very simple yet powerful addition to Spaces.app.

Hyperspaces Icon

Hyperspaces is a rather straightforward app overall: it allows you to “own” and customize your Spaces. You can run the app in the menubar, in the dock or both. The features will be the same anyways. Let’s say you use Spaces a lot, do you know what’s missing? The possibility to assign a name to your spaces, a custom wallpaper for each space and a better keyboard support. Hyperspaces does all of this stuff in a sexy and well designed interface, without cluttering your Mac. Which is kinda weird, but I tell you – it works.

It works because everything is adjustable in the application’s Preferences. Besides the obvious “Launch on login” menu and the “Show application icon in” thing I mentioned before, the first thing you’ll notice is that Hyperspaces has built-in Growl support. That means, notifications as you change your workspace. Nice, but I uninstalled Growl last week. Then, you can customize how the application works when clicked: you can force it to show the switcher (which I’ll explain later), the Spaces overview (this) or just nothing. Last, you can decide to hide or show the desktop icons: there are standalone apps for that, Hyperspaces basically offers it for free. And that’s it for the General tab.

The next tab (the most important one, actually) is the Spaces tab, and that’s where you control who Hyperspaces should work for you. Once you’ve created as many spaces as you want (either in the System Preferences or right from Hyperspaces) you can assign a name and a hotkey to each space. That name can also be displayed on the desktop as a customizable label. Also, you can set a different desktop picture / color for every space in order to differentiate them. That’s what Apple should have done, and that’s where Hyperspaces comes in handy.

Hyperspaces Mac

Hyperspaces Label

What’s so great about this app is how it works and its interface. Combined together, these two features make the 12 bucks you have to spend for a full license totally worth, if you ask. I’ve set up my workflow like this: I’ve created 4 spaces and assigned them 4 custom names: General, Music, Organizers and Mails. Pretty much self explanatory, each space usually contains up to 3-4 apps. In this way I don’t clutter my Mac and, most of all, using Exposè is a lot quicker and useful. Then, I recorded 4 shortcuts for these spaces into Hyperspaces and assigned a shortcut to quickly invoke the Switcher. The switcher is a tiny translucent window that pops up on your screen and shows you a preview of the active Spaces, together with the names you entered and the custom wallpapers you chose. A spaces manager, powered by an awesome UI design.

Hyperspaces Switcher

Hyperspaces Menubar

Hyperspaces

A nice thing I noticed about the Switcher is that if you open it and then launch Exposè it doesn’t show up. If you leave Exposè, it’s right there again. Well done, Cocoabots.

Hyperspaces is a very good app which needs a little bit of customization to fully work for you. But I mean, every good app needs to be set up and every great app modifies itself according to your needs. It happens with Things, Yojimbo and every other application I daily use. If Spaces are part of your workflow and you think they could be better, Hyperspaces is a must-have. A huge time saver.

There’s a free, unlocked trial version awaiting, which will let you customize without restrictions up to 3 spaces.

Giveaway

The Cocoabots guys gave me 10 licenses to give away to MacStories readers.

Entering the contest is simple. All you have to do is:

- Follow me on Twitter (@storiesofmac) and tweet this message: “Win a Copy of Hyperspaces for Mac on MacStories http://mcstr.net/eHGfr @storiesofmac”

and

- Leave a comment telling me why you’d like to win Hyperspaces and with the link to your tweet.

I’ll pick up the winners on Thursday, January 21st.

Good luck!



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  1. #1

    That's what Sayam Aggarwal said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/sayam_aggarwal/status/7912632450

    I need Hyperspaces cos OS X is all about looking good and being more

    Sayam Aggarwal Reply:
    January 18th, 2010

    @Sayam Aggarwal, remove please.


  2. #2

    That's what Sayam Aggarwal said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/sayam_aggarwal/status/7912632450

    I need Hyperspaces cos OS X is all about the interface for me and this application takes it one step ahead!


  3. #3

    That's what Gernot said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/_gsg/status/7912753639


  4. #4

    That's what mangochutney said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/mangochutney/status/7912737749


  5. #5

    That's what jared thompson said 7 months ago:

    pick me pick me, my dual screen setup isn’t enough i want even more space!


  6. #6

    That's what Craig Paterson said 7 months ago:

    I’d love to win a copy of HyperSpaces to help me manage my spaces better and help separate my Mac OS X desktop from my Windows setup running in Parallels.

    http://twitter.com/cpfusion/status/7912751116


  7. #7

    That's what Jens said 7 months ago:

    I’d like to win Hyperspaces because that would be the first time I’d win any software. *g*


  8. #8

    That's what millca said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/millca/statuses/7912802875

    This app has been on my short list of apps to purchase. It would greatly improve my ability to get things done without all the distractions bombarding me every second.


  9. #9

    That's what Brendan said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/br62/status/7912882385
    I’d like to win because I often find myself really cramped even with regular spaces and would like to be able to manage them better.


  10. #10

    That's what Dorian Grey said 7 months ago:

    I’d like to win because I often have the problem that I can’t distinguish between my 6 Spaces. With Hyperspaces I could assign those names and different wallpapers.

    http://twitter.com/dorian_grey/status/7912944178


  11. #11

    That's what WalrusCP said 7 months ago:

    I have really liked how Hyperspaces augments my interaction with spaces. Not only has it helped clean up my menubar by removing the need for the spaces item but it also has allowed me to speed up my workflow by better differentiating between my spaces visually. I have a MacHeist Loot license, which will expire as soon as the pending 1.1 version is released, so I would really love to win a full license.

    http://twitter.com/walruscp/status/7912909631


  12. #12

    That's what Lawrence said 7 months ago:

    I would LOVE to win Hyperspaces because I LOVE free software!

    http://twitter.com/clearnew/status/7913033435


  13. #13

    That's what Marc Salmon said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/salmooon/status/7912822746

    Up until recently i was very pro PC… and then i bought a mac – Much simpler and quicker workflow, much more enjoyable user experience and a general pleasure to use. And these customisations are the icing on the cake.

    That’s why i’d like Hyperspaces. :D


  14. #14

    That's what Shaun said 7 months ago:

    This would be great to have being that I work on so many projects between my teaching job, my youth pastor job as well as blogging, it would be nice to utilize Spaces more with this app.

    http://twitter.com/shaun_27/status/7913080347


  15. #15

    That's what ekeight said 7 months ago:

    Twittered.
    I like the idea. But i guess it’s only for US Residents. :(


  16. #16

    That's what Keir Ansell said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/Keir/status/7913313012

    I saw this app ages ago and completely forgot about it until now.

    It’s definitely something I would use, and being a fuss pot, the extra functionality will definitely be welcome :)


  17. #17

    That's what Ivy said 7 months ago:

    I’m a recent switcher (since Christmas) and I’m still learning and exploring all the cool things my baby can do. I’d love to add this app to my small app collection to make my Mac even better than it is by itself and it would help me separate work, studying and fun on my laptop.

    Link to Twitter is set under website. :-)


  18. #18

    That's what Nikola said 7 months ago:

    I really do need more space!

    here’s my tweet
    http://twitter.com/colaja/status/7913484708


  19. #19

    That's what Korni22 said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/Korni22/status/7913579449
    Would be very happy :)


  20. #20

    That's what Steve L. said 7 months ago:

    1. I’m a spaces junky.

    2. I keep setting them up different ways as I refine my workflow. But when I move one app to a different space, there’s a learning curve for new habits. With the NAMING in Hyperspace, it would really help me define what’s what and where.

    3. I keep my email in space 2. I’d love to better set up hotkeys and notifications for more communication efficiency.

    4. The concept of spaces when released in OSX inspired me to set up my ACTUAL PHYSICAL DESK into spaces. I’ve even labeled them with little signs I’ve designed. Some of my physical spaces match my Mac spaces and Hyperspaces would give me better ways to "sync" them.

    http://twitter.com/CampSteve/status/7913345159


  21. #21

    That's what JohannesPeris said 7 months ago:

    Cool App.
    <CRY> I neeeever eeeever won something xDD </CRY>


  22. #22

    That's what JohannesPeris said 7 months ago:

    Wrong E-Mail. SRY


  23. #23

    That's what Jesse Almanrode said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/isaiah1112/status/7913828787

    I would absolutely love to have this functionality in Spaces. I have been trying to find an app like this forever!


  24. #24

    That's what FloriJan_86 said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/FloriJan_86/status/7913884183

    my mac could use a style upgrade :)


  25. #25

    That's what Russell Crawford said 7 months ago:

    I am a spaces addict and I often forget what I am doing on some spaces, even though I try to stay organised it can be extremely hard without having pre-defined spaces for programs which is why I would like to win Hyperspaces.


  26. #26

    That's what TechieTownMayor said 7 months ago:

    I would like to win Hyperspace because my MacBook Pro needs more screen real estate.

    http://twitter.com/TechieTownMayor/status/7913851430


  27. #27

    That's what Beholdthis said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/beholdthis/statuses/7913915565
    My desktop is usually cluttered with lots of applications/files open and Hyperspaces would help with my workflow.


  28. #28

    That's what sebax said 7 months ago:

    There’s never enough space, i use spaces since leopard day1 and some improvement could be handy.

    http://twitter.com/sebax_/status/7913963307


  29. #29

    That's what kickbutt said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/jaryre/status/7913898905

    I love space because it means huge and vast


  30. #30

    That's what Shishir said 7 months ago:

    Spaces is key to my workflow. From the review it looks like hyperspaces would help by allowing me to setup different wallpapers and hence provide visual cues for each space. Ability to assign any shortcut also seems handy.

    http://twitter.com/thegeekinme/status/7914162199


  31. #31

    That's what Daylen said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/daylenyang/status/7915653083

    The icon is awesome.


  32. #32

    That's what Foobar said 7 months ago:

    Hey you forgot to mention what makes this app better than the OS X default. Sure there is some added visual clutter, but from a functionality point of view, is there really anything?


  33. #33

    That's what Davide85 said 7 months ago:

    Here’s my tweet:
    http://twitter.com/eikichiDanma/statuses/7915497346

    About Hyperspaces, well, I think Spaces and Exposé are both essential, especially if you’re organized and assign spaces to apps with some criteria. The possibility of naming the spaces is a gorgeous idea, and yes, it definitely make Spaces more useful and quicker.

    Thanks for this review and giveaway


  34. #34

    That's what Kevin said 7 months ago:

    Hope I win this time (I probably won’t): http://twitter.com/kevinchen22/status/7915812103


  35. #35

    That's what DotSlashSlash said 7 months ago:

    I’d love to win hyperspaces because I do alot of iphone developing and making the GUI for them and using twitter at the same time and spaces aint good enough for my job :)
    http://twitter.com/dotslashslash/status/7915771985


  36. #36

    That's what Ian Harrier said 7 months ago:

    I would like to win because I could be more organized. It is also a lot more powerful (and eye-pleasing) than Apple’s own Spaces.

    http://twitter.com/guitarguy100/status/7915811621


  37. #37

    That's what Zak Soup said 7 months ago:

    I would love a copy of Hyperspaces because without spaces my desktop would look like normandy after the germans had their way.


  38. #38

    That's what Arthur B said 7 months ago:

    I was going to buy this a few days ago but put it off until I could read some reviews. This was great. Hopefully I can win this. Thanks for the review.

    http://twitter.com/ArthurBekaryan/status/7916127372


  39. #39

    That's what Olìve said 7 months ago:

    My tweet: http://twitter.com/olivederhiert/statuses/7916080667

    Hyperspace is really useful, simple and sexy, a must have integration of Spaces!


  40. #40

    That's what Robb said 7 months ago:

    Here is my linkL
    http://twitter.com/zeebe/status/7916765247

    I would like to win to make my life easier, I usually have all my spaces filled with different projects, and would like to give this a try to see how it will benefit me.


  41. #41

    That's what Maija said 7 months ago:

    I would love to win this to give to my husband for our anniversary, he loves all things Apple and this would be an added bonus to the hopefully iTablet coming in soon!
    http://twitter.com/maijabear/status/7916771714


  42. #42

    That's what Rossella said 7 months ago:

    Ecco il mio tweet: http://twitter.com/fiordiloto84/status/7917174034
    Hyperspace sembra un’ottima e non intrusiva implementazione di Spaces, soprattutto per quanto riguarda la possibilità di dare i nomi agli spazi e così organizzare ancora di più il proprio flusso di lavoro.
    Grazie per la giveaway


  43. #43

    That's what db said 7 months ago:

    I simply love it

    http://twitter.com/enetizen/statuses/7917918250


  44. #44

    That's what SebaSonido said 7 months ago:

    I would like to win it because I need more, beautiful and amazing graphics space :D

    https://twitter.com/SebaSonido/status/7917918052


  45. #45

    That's what AMPC713 said 7 months ago:

    I would really love Hyperspaces because it looks so much better than Spaces and I like the labelling feature. However, I just signed up for a Twitter account a few days ago, and have no idea what you mean by sending you a Tweet. Could someone help me out?

    AMPC


  46. #46

    That's what MacKat said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/KodyTroje/status/7918018107

    I would like a license of Hyperspaces because, as a student, it’s very hard to distinguish my current Spaces layout – having 7 courses a day and using my MacBook Pro in all of them creates a very cluttered desktop at the end of the day, even with my current Spaces layout.

    I’m a high school student, and I have 6 spaces – one for each of my core classes (Biology, Geometry, Civics & Law, and Language Arts), one for my Digital Arts classes (iMove / Kinemac projects) and one for my email / web romping.

    Hyperspaces would be a welcome addition to my daily workflow, and was unknown to me until your RSS post appeared in my mail box.

    Thank you for the opportunity to win a license! =D


  47. #47

    That's what Carlomaru said 7 months ago:

    Un’ottima applicazione, semplice e funzionale, che rende ancor più funzionale Mac OS X!

    http://twitter.com/carlomaru/statuses/7915506024


  48. #48

    That's what Tyago Neres said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/TyagoNeres/status/7918762274

    I’d love to own Hyperspaces, I downloaded the free version and it makes my work a lot easier…winning a license would be the cherry on the cake!


  49. #49

    That's what Tom said 7 months ago:

    Hyperspaces would increase my productivity tenfold.

    http://twitter.com/popebot/status/7918996398


  50. #50

    That's what fellowweb said 7 months ago:

    Federico,

    I’d love to win one of the Hyperspaces licenses as I already had an e-mail exchange with the developer regarding the awesome features he is going to integrate into the next release.

    E.g. Hyperspaces might gain the feature to hide the dock depending on the active space. Perfect for using VMware Fusion/Parallels Desktop explicitly on one space in full screen unity mode (so that the OS X menu bar is still accessible. ;)

    Being a student, it would be fantastic to be among the winners!

    PS: http://twitter.com/fellowweb/status/7919337859


  51. #51

    That's what Ethan Wright said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/thetweetblaster/status/7919631569

    So I can organize my spaces…. And don’t forget customizing them also!


  52. #52

    That's what Guido Marucci Blas said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/guidomb/status/7919438246


  53. #53

    That's what Fabrizio Lodi said 7 months ago:

    I’d like to win ‘caus I’ve switched lately and I still have to stard using Spaces, and I want to that at best

    http://twitter.com/xool/statuses/7920053535


  54. #54

    That's what biship said 7 months ago:

    So l can custom backgrounds for each individual space, that’s better than space of mac.

    http://twitter.com/biship2855/status/7921406456


  55. #55

    That's what Rohit said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/nite41/status/7922486478

    I need this coz I go hyper with my spaces! lol!


  56. #56

    That's what The_BORG said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/The_BORG/status/7922487104

    Seems like a GREAT app to customize my Spaces.


  57. #57

    That's what Henry Bennett said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/cuby07/status/7925194598

    Great giveaway! I’d love Hyperspaces because it just looks awesome and very useful! I use Spaces all the time, but I’d love to be able to organise and adjust them better.


  58. #58

    That's what Spencer said 7 months ago:

    Spaces is useful, but definitely a very basic program. Even just changing the background of each Space is a huge improvement! Hyperspaces looks like a fantastic way to customise Spaces and enhance my workflow.

    http://twitter.com/quisquous/status/7926208646


  59. #59

    That's what Matt said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/thmttch/status/7932072407

    The Mac is the only implementation of the multiple workspace idea that I’ve ever been able to stomach, so I want this app to show me how good it can really get.


  60. #60

    That's what Patrick said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/p4trick_s/status/7935271402


  61. #61

    That's what Radada said 7 months ago:

    Hi there and thx for this offer ; )
    Why should I get Hyperspaces? Because I deserve it? Maybe because I’m a developper too and it would be most welcome on my 13′ macbook?

    http://twitter.com/Radada/status/7938060112


  62. #62

    That's what ilpredo said 7 months ago:

    I need more space!

    http://twitter.com/ilpredo/status/7939460219


  63. #63

    That's what Andrew said 7 months ago:

    I’d like to win a copy of Hyperspaces so I can manage Spaces better.

    http://twitter.com/alee67/status/7942594823


  64. #64

    That's what Dodie said 7 months ago:

    I need to start getting organized @-)

    Plus, it’s cool! =D

    http://twitter.com/dmartinng/status/7943003543


  65. #65

    That's what Derek said 7 months ago:

    I would like to win because I use spaces all the time and this makes it better!

    http://twitter.com/Dericus/status/7946825834


  66. #66

    That's what Lesley said 7 months ago:

    I’d love to win this so I can have the ability to name & customize each of my spaces – really worthwhile enhancements.

    http://twitter.com/LesleyOswin/status/7950599907


  67. #67

    That's what Matthew Rex said 7 months ago:

    http://twitter.com/matthewrex/status/7955449105


  68. #68

    That's what knox said 7 months ago:

    Just one click to get my space status and change it.

    http://twitter.com/knox1239/status/7956972439


  69. #69

    That's what Marc said 7 months ago:

    I would love to win a copy of hyperspaces, cause I got really confused with my spaces.

    Music, Web Developing, Surfing, Studying and chatting requires tones of different open applications at the same time


  70. #70

    That's what Jeff Whitfield said 7 months ago:

    I should win a copy of Hyperspaces because I am awesome.

    https://twitter.com/jeffwhitfield/status/7961157590


  71. #71

    That's what Okky Ghofoer said 7 months ago:

    I’m quite a heavy user of Spaces. Actually I kinda miss VirtueDesktops, but when I heard that the guys behind Hyperspaces are actually the ones that develop VirtueDesktops, I know that this application will be rocking! :D

    http://twitter.com/okkyhtf/status/8024696270