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PyWikit

In response to a challenge in the Mac forum at Ars Technica, I’ve banged out a quick service that adds “Search With Wikipedia” to your Services menu (right below “Search With Google”). It’s called PyWikit because (a) somebody suggested “Wikit” for the name and (b) I wrote it in Python, using PyObjC. To use it, download it and move it to your ~/Library/Services folder. At the moment you will probably have to log out and log in again to update your Services menu. If I get motivated I’ll build an installer, someday. (Unlikely since I’ve only spent about an hour on this, most of which was taken up building a universal binary for PyObjC. While it is true that PyObjC rocks, its universalness is still a little, uh, rocky.)

3 Comments

  1. new2mac
    new2mac June 22, 2006

    He slew the Wiki dragon. Bravo!

  2. chuck
    chuck June 22, 2006

    Since I was confused by this, thought I’d post a quick clarification.

    The “Services” directory needs to be created the first time you install a third-party service (which was the case on my new MacBook Pro). Also, if you install in /Library, instead of ~/Library, it will be available to all users.

    Great utility, Russell.

    Also, as someone posted over at MacAch, you could easily create a whole line of these services. There’s already a dictionary search and a Google search installed be default, but how about MSN, Wiktionary, Google subpages (images, news, etc.) the possibilities are endless and you already have the basic framework done.

    Again, thanks for whipping this up. It’s one of the few such mini-utilities I’ve found that I will probably actually use.

  3. Russell Finn
    Russell Finn June 23, 2006

    Thanks, Chuck, for the clarification; and thanks to both of you for the kind words. It’s nice to get such immediate positive feedback…

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