If you haven't read my previous article go that really quick: Part 1
1. RocketDock. Simply, it's a feature-full application that places a dock on your screen. Some of these features include: custom icons, backgrounds, behaviors, screen position, and a lot more. It's very nice for launching applications and there's even an option to minimize windows to it. It's really snappy and low resource so it won't lag your system down at all. I place the dock on the right side of my screen and use the auto-hide feature. You can add icons to the dock by dragging shortcuts from a folder on your computer. You can edit those icons once they are on the dock, allowing you to theme your dock however you want. There a plethora of icon sites out there, but I like to use Iconspedia. Also, I recommend trying out Inkscape if you're interested in editing or creating your own icons.
Here's some examples of the things you can do with RocketDock.
Screen Shot 1 : Basic
Screen Shot 2 : Advanced
Screen Shot 3 : Creative
2. Switcher. Here is a nice application that would replace the Win+Tab function in Windows with something a little more Expose or Mission Control. It displays your windows in a catalog utilizing several different configurations. Another must have for productivity users. I personally don't use this as much as I used to. I don't need all the advanced features, and the Windows Catalog built into the next app, Dexpot, is more than enough for what I need. However, if you are looking for a fully featured window switcher, this is the app you want.
4. Dexpot. This tool allows you to create custom virtual desktops which are supplemental workspaces for windows. It allows you to move windows to separate workspaces with keystrokes or mouse movements and then switch between them. Dexpot is fully equipped with beautiful graphical switching animations. If you're limited to only one monitor, this application is a necessity in our productivity arsenal. There are also a bucket load of add-ons and plugins that can be enabled to further the usefulness of this app. As I mentioned I use Dexpot to manage open window switching instead of Switcher. It's not even close to the level of customization that can be done with Switcher, but it's simplicity is exactly what I am looking for.
Woah, what's up with all the Mac rip-offs! Yes, I will admit that some of these apps seem to be ripping off what Mac OSX has. However, that would not be complete true. It only rips off what Mac OSX has made popular, not what they invented. Dock bars have been used in graphic user interface since the late 80s. The Hot Corners and Switcher functionality has been on Linux since the early 2000s, around the same time Apple started spotlighting some of these features. Needless to say, Apple never ever innovates a product, they simply popularize it.
5. Rainmeter. Warning: this program is HIGHLY customizable and may or may not take up an entire Saturday or more to set up. On the other hand, there is a huge community of users that upload their configurations and they would be more than flattered to share them with you. Basically what it does is put custom widgets/gadgets on the background of your desktop screen. These widgets can be downloaded in theme packs off Deviant Art and Customize.org, or for those graphically savvy... you can make your own! Which ever you choose, I highly recommend having a familiarity with Image Manipulation so that you can customize the skins to fit your own needs.. I personally use GIMP, a free open source software that competes with Adobe PhotoShop. (Note: if you want free and legal, albeit dated, PhotoShop see here). Also, each skin has it's own configuration document which is pretty simple to understand. If you're familiar with .ini files you'll be fine.
Note: Mac OSX has a similar program called GeekTool.
Okay, so now you have an entire suite of applications to increase your productivity in Windows 7 (or 8). In the next article I'm going to introduce one more thing that can help you really put your stamp on
your Personal Computer.
Part 1 Part 3 coming soon.
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