It isn’t wrong to love uBar. With an interface eerily reminiscent of the Windows start menu and conjoined active task tray, uBar mines some well-worn territory and comes up with something interesting and – most importantly – helpful. Mac OS X has cycled through a handful of application switching utilities, starting back with the generic ⌘-Tab switcher, then introducing Exposé’s All Windows view, and finally landing on the dynamic Mission Control interface. What ties these methods together is their invisibility: you don’t get a clean view of what other apps are open unless you call up one of these app switchers. The dock has long sought to fill this gap, but it takes multiple clicks to view active windows and an eagle’s eye to spot which apps are open and which are just lying dormant in the dock. uBar’s tasteful design looks just like if you mirrored the menu bar along the bottom of your Mac and filled it with application information. Each app icon displays a list of its active windows upon click or simply brings up the app, if it’s just a single window. With the introduction of Spotlight and the popularity of app launchers like Alfred and LaunchBar, there’s no need to launch apps from the dock, so uBar’s streamlined view of running applications feels more attuned to OS X’s current incarnation. In testing uBar, I tried to avoid using my regular dock altogether; I never missed it, and I doubt I’ll ever bring it back. uBar is a simple, familiar idea, executed with typical Mac streamlining and subtle flair. It’s always possible to improve on perfection.
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