Examples:
Ctrl-space brings it up, Cmd-2 (user configurable) gives me my video apps window, F, then space launches FinalCutPro

Ctrl-space brings it up, Cmd-3 (user configurable) gives me my text editing apps window, S, then space launches Smultron.

You can also arrow around the apps if there is more than one app with the same first letter.

Also, PathFinder (Finder replacement) has a hidden launcher built it too. Currently it’s fairly weak, but the devs have indicated improvements in upcoming versions.

it’s worth noting that A) you can invoke it with a key command, even though you seemed to say otherwise in the review, and B) you have to train the software, which does take about a week and a half (or 3-5 days if you use your computer for 10+ hours a day, like I do).

As a software developer quickly switching between apps and not wanting to have to take my hand off the mouse while doing something, this method has quickly become an instant favorite for me. It brings up the correct application 95% of the time for me, and if not I just type any couple of letters in the application name and it pops up (MUCH faster than my previous method of using Spotlight).

You can also just grab a file and invoke it with the circle motion to bring up a list of apps that can open that file. Super quick!

To remove search field: Click on Butler in the menu bar. Go to Butler -> Customize. Find “Web Search” in the Menu Bar categories. Select it and right-click -> Delete or select it and press either the Backspace or Delete key. It can also be configured as an icon that you select to bring up the search field.

Deleting text before new search – how does it know whether you are adding more text to refine the search or whether you want to start a new search? You can easily delete text by first pressing Command-A to select all of the text and then start typing to replace it. You can also set the timeout default so that it will wait for a shorter time before inferring that you are starting a new search: select Butler in the menu bar. Go to Butler -> Preferences. On the left select Abbreviations. Set Behavior/Invalidate query to a smaller number of milliseconds.

Main window size: can be resized like any window by grabing the bottom right corner. Also, in top left, the view can be changed from columnar to list.

The 3 items in the menubar (including Bookmarks and search field) can be removed or the features can be added to one of the other menus. You can define any of 0 to (a whole bunch of) menus and a docklet. Obviously, if you remove the search field, you would need to invoke it through a key sequence (default is Control-Command-G) or select it in one of the menus.

I’m running a 2 year old MBP, 3GB RAM but otherwise stock – what are you guys doing that is making Spotlight slow? It’s always instantaneous for me.