Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on October 02, 2007 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

Applications are pretty much the core reason that computers are useful, and I’ve seen people that have literally hundreds of different programs installed. I’m not sure how they make it through each day with the super-sized Start Menu that they normally have, but I’m guessing that they use some sort of efficient application launcher.

Today we’re going to bring you our top 10 free application launchers, and we’ll throw two gadgets/widgets into the mix as well. We’ve grouped the application launchers into various categories based upon their type: docks, menus, find-as-you-type, and then the gadgets/widgets.

–Docks–

There are some Mac features that applications try to bring over to the Windows side, and one of the most common types are clones of Apple’s Dock. Here are a few apps that will give you the Mac OS X dock feel while in Windows:

• ObjectDock [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This is one of my favorite docks, and the big reason for that is the new weather widget that they’ve incorporated into the latest version. There are both free and paid versions available, and the free version actually does more than the other free alternatives listed below. Vista users can even see live previews of any windows displayed in the dock.
  
• RocketDock [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This is a freeware-only dock that is well updated, and supports many of the same features as ObjectDock. Vista users can also take advantage of live previews for windows that have been minimized to the dock.
  
• RKLaucher [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This launcher isn’t updated very frequently, but it is well known for being light weight. Out of all the options I would say that this one is the best performance.
   

–Menus–

Menu access to your programs is probably among the most popular launchers because of how familiar users are with menu systems. We managed to scrounge up four of the best application launchers that use a menu-like structure for listing out your shortcuts.

• 8Start [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This is one of my favorite application launchers because it is extremely powerful. The best part is that it always opens the menu of programs where your mouse is located, so the necessary mouse movement is kept to a minimum. That may not sound like a big deal, but if you have a high-resolution monitor it can make a big difference.
  
• SC-QuickStart [Homepage]
  This is one of the lighter application launchers, and it primarily resides in your System Tray. You can also assign hotkeys to each of the applications to make launching your favorite programs even faster.
  
• JetStart [Homepage]
  This comes in both free and paid flavors, but the free version will be more than suitable for most people. It has several different ways to display your shortcuts, but my favorite is the customizable menu that’s displayed when you hover over the Start Menu (clicking on the Start Menu will still serve the normal purpose).
  
• SpeedyStart [Homepage] – Thanks to “Chance” for the tip!
  This is a tiny little program that lets you customize the right-click menu attached to the Start Menu. Access to your favorite apps has never been so quick!
  

–Find As You Type–

The find-as-you-type application launchers have really been taking off lately. They offer what I believe to be the fastest way to find what you’re looking for, and are typically very customizable.

• Find and Run Robot [Homepage]
  Pressing just a single key will launch the search utility, and then you can immediately start typing the name of the program or file that you’re looking for. When the item shows up in the list just hit the corresponding number on your keyboard’s number pad.
  
• Launchy [Homepage] [Our Full Review]
  This is the most popular “find-as-you-type” application launcher available. It has a slick yet simple interface, and there are several powerful plugins to extend the built-in functionality.
  
• Colibri [Homepage]
  I just recently came across this program, and it’s not only intuitive but it looks good, too. It seems to lack some of the power the other two options have, but if looks could kill…
  

–Widgets & Gadgets–

Since gadgets and widgets are blanketing the world of computers I didn’t think I could make it through this post without mentioning a few gadgetized application launchers.

• Vista Sidebar [Homepage]
  This is a sidebar widget for Vista, and you can add shortcuts to nearly anything (including folders).
  
• Yahoo! Widget Engine [Homepage]
  This makes use of the cross-platform Yahoo! Widget engine, and it can be setup to launch all of your favorite programs. It utilizes user-created categories to organize the shortcuts.
  

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on January 25, 2010 by CyberNet.

For many of us instant messengers have become an important part of our daily lives, and in some cases IM’ing has begun to replace email communication. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for the best messenger application, and for awhile I gave that crown to Digsby… that is until they started to use what I consider to be shady practices to infest computers with adware.

A friend at work introduced me to a new messenger application called Qnext. I was instantly impressed that it was a cross-platform messenger (runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux), and works with all of the major networks including MSN, Yahoo!, AIM, ICQ, Jabber, and Google Talk. The thing is that Qnext goes way beyond just being a messenger. It does all of the voice chat, video conferencing, photo sharing, and file transfers that you want from an app like this, but it is also able to grant remote access to your PC for one of your friends or even stream music from another computer that’s running Qnext. Sound cool? It is.

Here’s a rundown of what Qnext is capable of:

• Universal Messenger – Qnext is the world’s most advanced Universal Instant Messenger, allowing you to send and receive messages with buddies on all of the most popular networks.
• Voice Chat – Just get a microphone or a headset and you’re ready to host Voice Conferences with up to eight Qnext Friends. Qnext is cross-platform. This means, you guessed it, finally Mac, Windows, and Linux users can all jump on a Video or Voice call together!
• Video Conferencing – Just plug in a webcam and a headset, and you are ready to go! Since Qnext video and audio conferencing is completely integrated into your Qnext friends/ buddy list, initiating a video conference is straightforward and easy. All you do is select a user from your ‘friends’ list and start a live video conference with right clicking on a Qnext contact and selecting Conference > Video.
• Photo Sharing – Qnext Photo Sharing is the easiest way to share an unlimited amount of photos with anyone, even if they don’t have Qnext. Just choose your photos, choose your Audience and you’re done; your friends will receive a link that lets them view or download (with permission) your photos from any web browser. They can browse through thumbnails, zoom into photos, and run custom slideshows too!
• File Transfer – Qnext enables users to send or receive files from other Instant Messenger protocols including Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Google Talk, Jabber, iChat, and ICQ. When you Transfer Files between Qnext users you can take a file (s) or folder (s) of any size from your computer and drag it onto a contact name. This initiates a secure P2P file transfer. A file can be 1 MB, 1GB, or your entire C drive!
• File Sharing – Qnext File Sharing is the easiest way to get those huge files where they need to go fast. Put an unlimited amount of files or folders of any size into a File Zone and select your Audience; your specified recipients will get a link in an Email or an Instant Message and be able to download any or all of your shared files at top speeds, from any web browser in the world!
• Remote PC Access – Qnext MyPC is a Remote Access and Application Sharing service included in Qnext. Basically, it lets you give yourself or anyone you specify access to your computer or specific applications from any standard web browser.
• Music Streaming – Qnext Music Streaming is the only way to listen to your entire music Library from anywhere in the world. Choose up to 700,000 songs and select your Audience; we will Streaming your tunes instantly to whoever you want. Whether you want to share with yourself or with your friends, this is the only way to stream your music to any web browser on the planet.

The downside to a messenger like this? Well, it’s Java based which is something I’m typically not a huge fan of. Putting that aside the memory usage is rather high, and ranged from 90MB at startup to somewhere around 150MB after some normal usage. That’s a big number, but given the amount of memory available these days that may not be a concern for you. Netbook users, however, may need to be a bit more conscious with how much memory their applications are using.

Here are a bunch of screenshots from different areas of Qnext:

There is also an iPhone version of Qnext in the works that is working to bring many of these features right to your phone… including the streaming music capability from what I’ve read. The desktop version is free though, and can’t really hurt to give it a try.

Qnext Homepage (Windows only; Freeware)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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