While most folks are accustomed to going to START:PROGRAMS, then selecting their program on Windows, or if on Mac, to the dock or applications folder, I fell into the habit of using an application launcher to start my programs. It was an approach I didn’t think would grow on me, but I’ve found it easier to start a program by just pressing a key combination and then typing the name of the program to launch it.

On the Mac, I’ve been using Quicksilver, which has a lot of features but for which development had stopped. As a result, when I upgraded to Snow Leopard OS X.6 on my Macbook, I decided to switch from Quicksilver to something else.

Following the advice of the LifeHacker folks, I considered two application launchers, one for Mac and the other for Windows:

1. Namely – an application launcher for Mac with a very simple interface.
2. Launchy – an application launcher for Windows

Both of these are free, open source software–so no cost as well–and work well for me. Namely describes itself in this way:

Namely is possibly the fastest way to open applications. And unlike some other launchers, it doesn’t require any learning.

You simply activate it using your preferred keyboard shortcut, start typing part of an application’s name and see a list of matches as you type. Most of the time, one or two letters are enough. In fact, Namely learns your habits and makes your most-used apps even quicker to access over time. It’s basically Spotlight for applications, only much faster, and highly addictive.

While Launchy describes itself:

Launchy is a free windows and linux utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager.

Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes!

Both work similarly and with ease. Of course, there are other tools out there that get the job done. Sean Lancaster shared one tool for Mac (via Twitter) that looks promising–Google Search Box (GSB)-Mac--which does a lot more than Namely. Some of GSB-Mac’s functions include the following:

• Search the web (Type “britney spears”)
• Start applications (Type “itunes”)
• Open websites (Type “wikipedia.com”)
• Search for contacts in Address Book (Type “Bob”)
• Find files on your computer (Type the filename)
• Find music (Type the name of a song or artist in your iTunes library)
• Definitions and more: “Define Word”, “Weather 94043”, “5 + 5”

That said, I’m sticking with Namely on the Mac for right now.

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