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Sherlock, named after fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, was a file and web search tool created by Apple Inc. for the PowerPC -based "classic" Mac OS, introduced in 1998 with Mac OS 8.5 as an extension of the Mac OS Finder 's file searching capabilities. Like its predecessor (System 7.5’s revamped 'Find File' app, adapted by Bill Monk from ...
- Where Does the Term "Sherlocked" Come From?
- Does "Sherlocking" Happen a Lot?
- The Best Tech Newsletter Around
Related: How to Use macOS' Spotlight Like a Champ
Before Spotlight---Apple's built-in search feature---there was a different built-in search feature named Sherlock, after the fictional detective. Sherlock was part of Mac OS 8 and 9, and allowed users to search for files and contacts. When Mac OS X came around, Sherlock was extended to incorporate some basic web functionality---including translation.
The idea of offering information from the Internet in a native Mac search interface intrigued developer Dan Wood, who founded a company called Karelia and built a tool named Watson. This $30 application was intended to be a companion to Sherlock (get it?) and supported way more internet functionality than Sherlock. Users of Watson could browse Yahoo's famous directory with expandable menus, look up movie schedules, calculate exchange rates, and a lot more.
Watson became very popular, and stayed that way right until Apple released Mac OS X 10.2 with Sherlock 3. In that release, Apple added just about everything Watson could do to Sherlock's own interface.
After incorporating all these features, people no longer had much reason to buy Watson. Sherlock could do it all. A narrative took hold, and in the future "Sherlocked" became a word used any time Apple put out a new feature that made a third-party app no longer relevant.
In a blog post, Wood said Steve Jobs told him Apple can and will do this to developers on the platform. Here's Wood paraphrasing a phone call from Jobs himself:
The term "Sherlocked" stuck around because it's useful: there isn't really another word to describe an app being replaced by an OS feature. And every few years Apple really does add features replacing projects put out by third parties, including such favorites as:
•Konfabulator. An app that offered interactive desktop widgets, Konfabulator was made irrelevant by Apple's Dashboard.
•iPodderX. An early podcast manager for Mac OS X, iPodderX was made irrelevant by podcast support in iTunes.
•Sandvox. An application for building websites in a native Mac environment, Sandvox lost a lot of momentum when Apple released iWeb. Coincidentally, Sandvox is from Karelia---the developers behind Watson---so they've been Sherlocked twice.
•Growl. An open source notification system for Mac OS X used by hundreds of Mac apps, Growl was made irrelevant by Apple's native notification system.
We're sure readers can think of other examples. F.lux is just the latest victim. And Mac users will continue seeing the term "Sherlocked" thrown around whenever Apple adds new features to the operating system previously offered by third party applications.
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- Justin Pot
- Former News Editor
Sep 9, 2023 · The app referenced Sherlock by its very name—Dr. Watson is Sherlock Holmes's associate and confidant in Doyle's detective stories. Soon, Watson fizzled out because Sherlock had the advantage of being integrated deep into the bowels of the operating system. Watson fans cried foul, coining the term "Sherlocked."
- Christian Zibreg
- Author
This is our page for asking and answering questions for Sherlock・Hidden Object Mystery. If you have a question you can ask it below and please check through the questions that have already been asked to see if you can answer any. When is the next update? I'm currently on Level 182 and it's not offering any ..
Jul 19, 2024 · Since most third-party apps tend to be subscription-based, one could argue that sherlocking is a good practice as it saves Apple customers from shelling out for basic features such as accessing the calculator or flashlight. Even if third-party apps are free to use, they are usually infested with ads which becomes an annoyance for users.
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Jun 12, 2024 · In the late ’90s, Apple launched a search app named Sherlock for macOS 8 that you could use to search the web and files on local systems. Now, a company called Karelia Software already had a $29 ...
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Jun 12, 2024 · A developer called Dan Wood (using the company name Karelia) developed an app called Watson, intended to supplement Sherlock by greatly expanding the Internet search side of things. It was a ...
