Dockland Software Launches Fantasktik Taskbar App for Mac

"Fantastic" is probably the first adjective that comes to mind after using Dockland Software's app for OS X Leopard. As soon as I downloaded the free trial version, my desktop, as well as my mind, suddenly became more organized.

This Dockland Software-developed app, which lives quietly in your System Preferences, is an auxiliary taskbar that enables you to keep a close eye on your running applications and opened windows. The moment you install the application (remember to check the "Show Fantasktik" box in the pref. pane), all your windows and running apps are racked next to one another just under the menubar on the top of your desktop. It's non-intrusive, opaque, yet highly visible when you need it.

However, the most note-worthy aspect about Fantasktik (this is the app's purpose really) is that it can display a cool preview of the app / window you are hovering over with the mouse pointer, offering all the information you need to see if that is the place you want to go. The preview is large enough to see what the respective window is displaying, and small enough not to clog up your view. Previews are also semi-transparent, not blocking your view of the window you are currently working in. The sleek animations and transparency effects contribute to the pleasant user experience.

You can use the application to your favor even more, by doubling with the Expose feature of OS X, which users generally assign to the side buttons of Apple's Mighty Mouse. However, my guess is that an app like Fantasktik is something for those tired of the Expose effect. After months of use, I found my eyes incredibly tired from all the zooming in and out of windows using the Expose function. Having installed Fantasktik, my eyes and brain were significantly less solicited, while my working speed was a tad improved as well.

I can vow for the great usability of this Leopard app, and encourage anyone who reads this piece to download the trial version (14 days) and try it out. All features are enabled, and, if you decide it's a keeper, you can purchase a license code ($9.99), which you can enter directly into the trial version.