Often when people look over my shoulder (or are watching a presentation I am giving), they ask how I get my computer to perform specific tasks without ever touching my mouse. I could write on a long-winded post on being the master of your own tools and all that, but the answer is actually quite simple: I use AutoHotkey. Their tagline says it all: Automation. Hotkeys. Scripting. Using Autohotkey (or AHK for insiders), you can automate virtually anything by sending keypresses and mouse clicks. Yo... [More]

If you have read my previous post on Launchy, you know I prefer Launchy as a means to start programs using the keyboard only using the Windows start menu, either by mouse or by entering a search string. By default, Launchy indexes your start menu, but you can easily add other locations by going to the options screen. On the catalog tab, you can add as many search locations as you like. If you want, you can even have Launchy index your document folders to quickly open your documents. However, se... [More]

Even with search integrated into the Windows 7 start menu, I still find myself using Launchy to start programs and launch shortcuts all the time. The primary reason for me is that it remembers what you launched with a particular text the next time you type it. What this means: if I use Launchy to start "SharePoint Workspaces" with the input "sp", it will put that hit at the top of the list the next time I type "sp". The start menu search will always put "SpeedFan" and "Split/Second" first. Besid... [More]

I use BgInfo on all my machines: it overlays configuration information on your desktop wallpaper, things like machine name, IP address, etc. For me this is useful, especially to have my current network settions at a glance without consuming resources like Windows gadgets do, since it creates a wallpaper image, sets it as background and quits. However, if you install virtualization software like VMware Player, it adds virtual network adapters to Windows, that subsequently show up in the info sho... [More]