Slickrun – The Windows Launcher

Part of my great tools series is a little launcher called Slickrun. The quick and short is This is the simplest tool that could get the job done There are other tools that have reams of features and refined interfaces, Colibri and Launchy are examples of two. Also on OSX I use Alfred which I find indispensable, even though it shares more with launchy than Slickrun.

What is slickrun?

Slickrun is a simple launcher that associates a command with a short text. You invoke it by hitting a keyboard combination, in my case alt+space. Then type in a command and boom an application is there waiting to be used. Slickrun has replaced my Windows start button I no longer use the Windows Start button on a daily basis. I use slickrun.

Why is slickrun better than the alternatives?

Any of the launchers are pretty good and for the most part an improvement over the stock windows experience. This one though is simple, unobtrusive, fast to load and slow to anger. Written in delphi it has a bit of a dated look, but then again I never really see Slickrun. Its a small blue band that does my bidding and then I have it set to autohide, I never notice it, A blue blip that does my bidding is what slickrun is. The other alternatives always seemed too slow and obtrusive for what I wanted for a windows launcher.

I have used Enzo, Colibri and Launchy and yet my needs were small and Slickrun did it with minimal fuss, almost no overhead and with killer speed. In short, Slickrun does one thing, but does it well I tend to look for apps that do one thing and do it well.

Go grab slickrun and give it a try, once you install it the less you notice the better of a job it is doing.

On a total aside I am writing this in Elements on my iPad using a Unicomp Customizer (Model M clone) that weighs more and is larger than the iPad. My how the world turns.