Make Windows way, way less annoying.

http://humanized.com/enso/

Enso is a free application for windows that allows you to use your computer with instant short-cut commands that you can type in plain English while in any (or no) application to do things that usually entire reaching for the mouse, shaking it around to find it, going to the start menu, scanning the list, maybe go to submenus, etc... etc... etc...  FORGET THAT

For all my MacBoy friends, let me start by saying mac already has this basically built in with CTRL+SPACE or whatever... CONGRATULATIONS - I like Enso better :-P

If you're a daily Windows Vista user, you may know you can press the "window" key and then type into the search area to find things quickly.  This is OK, but kind of slow and you can't make custom commands or type out Enlgish like "open Firefox".

If you are comfortable typing on a keyboard, and you don't have this application, you're missing out!  (and probably wasting tons of time a couple seconds at a time, hundreds of times a day, every day).

Without touching your mouse, you can set easy commands to do things like:

• open a program
• google something
• google-map
• spellcheck something
• find on wikipedia, ask.com, yahoo, youtube..
• get the definition of a word
• close a window
• switch to a window
• minimize
• maximize
• count words highlighted
• count characters highlighted
• calculate math equations (eg: 23423432 * 713.4 - 20938123) on the spot in any text in any window
• skip to the next track in itunes, winamp, pandora's box, others...
• play an artist by name in compatible players (like itunes)
• play song by name
• mute/unmute
• set new commands
• remove old commands
• + a lot more...

Many of these commands will use any currently highlighted text in any program.

Use case example: 

Your scanning a Microsoft Word document and you don't know the definition - highlight it, hold CAPSLOCK, and type "define" or "google" and release.  You won't even have to type the whole word before it guesses which command you were intending.  Your browser opens right to the page you needed, you read it, hold CAPSLOCK and type "cl" and let go- it guesses "close" your browser closes and your back.  Then as a bonus you hold CAPSLOCK and type "Next Tr" and let go, it guesses "Next Track" and your music changes to the next song. 

AWESOME.

I've probably typed "open My Doc" for My Documents about 500 times in the past couple months, and never had to find the icon in my start menu or on my desktop. 

Do I even have a start menu? :)

It takes some getting used to but not much (a day or two of using it). You'll be amazed you ever used a windows computer without it!