I hate the Windows XP Start Menu. It tries to be too smart, and never really works. I usually switch back to Classic Menu on any machine I start using. I even hate the Vista Start Menu more so. Heck I hardly use Vista anymore!
Anyway, I'm a keyboard guy, I love VIM, and I find myself pressing Windows Key + R to get a Run command and then typing notepad or calc to start some applications. I would rather not use the mouse whenever possible.
So if you are remotely like me and would like to start your applications and even documents with the keyboard, then you really should give Launchy a try.
In a nutshell, after you install Launchy, you see nothing. It is running in the background waiting for you to press its hotkey, the ALT-SPACE is the default. Then you can type a program name or a document name and it will start it for you. You can even let it look for MP3 files, for other documents, or perform a Google Search all from that simple bare-bones interface.
To get menus of all of its options and customize it, just right-click the Launchy window, around it's border or anywhere except where you'll enter text.
Don't wait, go and get it now!
3 comments:
Hmm, have you ever considered Linux? Trust me you'll be typing books worth of keystrokes in no time.
Before switching to Linux people start experiencing the same feelings you described in this post and then BAM they find the fix. It's called Linux! No fancy GUI, no well thought out interfaces. Anything and everything is done with the Terminal (command prompt to you windowers). Something that takes a few clicks in windows takes lines upon lines of text editing (with VIM yes your fav! or nano or EMACS)
I use Linux (Ubuntu) almost exclusively at home.
But Linux is not just a Terminal. I find Ubuntu GUI very intuitive and much better than Windows Vista. I don't do much with the Terminal for most of the work.
There are things better done with a mouse, and there are others that are better done with keyboard shortcuts.
You're a idiot. The XP start menu is THE BEST version ever! Not only you don't have to hover the mouse to the top in order to open the Programs menu, but you already have quick access to the programs that you use commonly. It is definitely the most practical and useful version ever.
Post a Comment