As a fairly proficient OS X user, my usage of Spaces has been binary: often, I don’t even turn it on, but when I do need it, I need complete control over every nook and cranny of each space I get. The lack of such flexibility is one reason I usually just keep it off (but it also depends on the computer at hand; the 20″ iMac in my home office offers plenty of resolution in comparison to my four year-old 15″ PowerBook.) This is where Hyperspaces is interesting: it’s not attempting to be an overhaul of the Spaces feature integrated with Mac OS X, but rather adding simple, useful little features that appeal to control freaks like yours truly.

Exactly what does it get right, though? It starts with how it’s designed: the entire gamut of user manipulation of Mac OS X Spaces (hereby referred to afterwards as simply “Spaces”) is all in a single tab of a preference pane contained in the System Preferences app. Quite simply, that’s not indicative of flexibility. Hyperspaces is an application that works in conjunction with Spaces; however, it has its own digs, with menubar space, a Preferences window, and the like, and it’s pretty clear from the start that you’re getting quite a bit more to tinker with.

Here’s the skinny. By default, each space gets a name in the menubar, desktop backgrounds in the Space Switcher, and Dock labels. That’s the minor stuff for the app, though: I like the options available for individual spaces, like changing the desktop background and getting the space name on the desktop (shortcut recording is also integrated within the app, meaning you can manage all your Spaces-related preferences from System Preferences from within Hyperspaces.)

The hotkey availibility is my favorite feature, and may fulfill a good chunk of the $12.95 you lay down for the application. Unlike vanilla Spaces — which requires that you add or remove Spaces from within System Preferences — Hyperspaces allows you to record shortcuts for adding and removing columns using your keyboard, which is a very smart feature idea. Obsessive Spaces users will love this; it helps you not feel like you’re going out of your way to add and remove Spaces within System Preferences. There are a couple other shortcuts that aren’t necessary, but function as expected; space switching between your next and previous spaces, for example.

But in the case of something like Hyperspaces, where the goal is transparency, it’s important to discuss the UI, which as a whole is pretty well laid-out. The app is away from view when you’re actually using it, functioning almost exactly like Spaces in terms of “in your face” disruption; the only time you’ll actually be diddling around with anything is if you choose to change preferences. I’m quite impressed at the amount of flexibility here — you can change the font used for the label, for pete’s sake — but there is the occasional bit of cruft that could use a swift kick in the rear. Adding rows or columns in Hyperspaces, for example, doesn’t apply such changes to Spaces (though the opposite is true), but such functional downsides are likely to be fixed in subsequent revisions.

And we get to the mythical question: is it worth purchasing? Quite simply, it depends entirely on your usage of Spaces; those who use Spaces obsessively and want more control over its functionality will spring for this app in a heartbeat, but at the same time, those who don’t use Spaces at all probably won’t be sold by Hyperspaces. Either way, the app’s features are available for the first two spaces for an unlimited period of time, at which point it’ll run you $12.95. For those of you who’d like to test the waters before purchasing, I highly recommend giving Hyperspaces a nice run, and judging it by functionality alone, it makes Spaces a real treat to use when I need it.

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