I just found the most cool program launcher – KeyBreeze. There are a number of noteworthy free program launchers out there, but this one seems to be the most powerful of the bunch. It’s a bit hard to get used to, but once you do, you can open programs in a flash! It sits harmlessly in the taskbar, taking up no system resources until it’s called upon.
The default key to bring it up is the semi-colon; but if you want to use the semi-colon in a document, just hit it twice. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you do, your life becomes exponentially faster! As they say, a penny saved is a penny earned, and I think the same logic can be used for time saved; a second gained is a second saved.
KeyBreeze is totally customizable, and can be used to open programs, websites, certain documents, the control panel; it can also be used to run system tools like system restore, defragmentation, the system configuration utility (msconfig), etc. You can access weather, favorites, TV guides, news . . . you can change the wallpaper, open your media player, play specific mp3 files . . . shut down or restart your computer . . . the uses are nearly limitless. And, of course, all these functions are accessed in a split second by pressing the semi-colon key and typing in the first couple letters of whatever it is you’re interested in (file, program or task).
It’s also got a notes utility built right in and you can create, hide, open, and edit notes (as well as create timed reminders w/ alarms) using the lightning-fast interface.
One thing that really amazed me was the auto-catalog feature. It created a list of keywords that created shortcuts to things I never even knew existed on my machine! For instance, did you know that XP has a narrator voice that you simply have to turn on? Most people probably knew that already, but I didn’t. Did you know that Windows XP has a count-up and countdown-timer with alarm built right in? I didn’t. Pretty cool.
It’s a pretty amazing and extremely powerful program (for free) and it’s my program launcher of choice.
Another noteworthy program launcher is Launchy.