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Integrate Launchy with Wget [Download Managers] 10 October 2008 at 5:00 pm by admin

Reader Justin writes in with a clever idea for quickly launching downloads with the popular command-line download manager, wget. His method: Make wget available to Launchy, then pass the URL of the file you want to download to wget through Launchy. Here’s how it works:

  1. Install Launchy.
  2. Download wget and copy the files from the unzipped folder to C:Windows.
  3. Create a shortcut to C:Windows/wget.exe and rename it dl.
  4. Place that shortcut in your Start menu. To configure wget to start minimized, right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and tick the checkbox next to Run minimized.
  5. Finally, to set the download directory, set the working directory (Start in) to your download folder of choice.
  6. Now simply rebuild your Launchy index, and voila!

To download a file with wget, just invoke Launchy, type ‘dl’ (though I actually stuck with wget), hit Tab, then paste the link. It works great, and it’s a really handy shortcut if you want to start a quick download. Not terribly familiar with wget but like this idea? Check out our previous guide to mastering wget. If the command line isn’t your cup of tea but you wouldn’t mind a little more flexibility with your downloads, take a quick look at the Hive Five Best Download Managers. Thanks Justin!


+ iTuny Adds iTunes Controls to Launchy [Featured Windows Download] By admin 30 September 2008 at 2:00 pm and have No Comments

Windows only: iTuny is a free plug-in for popular application launcher Launchy that controls music playback and so much more. Once installed, iTuny adds several actions to Launchy that allow you to play, pause, stop, or advance playback, which alone is a nice start. iTuny doesn’t stop there, though; you can also rate songs, show track info, set the volume, search your library, create new playlists, display album art, post to Twitter, and more. iTuny also integrates with previously mentioned Snarl to display notifications when you invoke iTuny commands via Launchy. The installation and setup are a little confusing, so keep reading for a closer look at how it works.

First, to install iTuny, run iTunes Control.exe from the unzipped download (I grabbed the latest version from this post). You’re given the option to choose where iTuny installs (though the installer doesn’t exactly explained that to you); I chose Launchy Utilities for both location options.

Once you’ve done that, iTuny is officially installed and ready to go. However, if you want to use some of the advanced features—like Snarl or Twitter support—you need to run the iTuny config. To do so, just invoke the iTunes Config command in Launchy.

To enable Snarl support, just tick the Snarl checkbox. If you want to post to Twitter or Pownce—which updates with a “Listening: Song - Artist (Album)” message—just enter your username and password for the service of your choice.

iTuny may be a touch confusing to get up and running (be sure to take a look at the README that comes with the download to get a better understanding of what commands are at your disposal), but if you’re a Launchy lover and iTunes is your default music player, the iTuny plug-in is a must have.


+ The Icon Tray Wallpaper [Featured Desktop] By admin 14 September 2008 at 9:00 am and have No Comments

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.
Windows user Love Underlined has an old laptop running Vista and can’t afford to sacrifice system memory to desktop customizing programs with a lot of bells and whistles. Instead, she creates a simple-but-cool desktop icon tray effect that anyone can mimic with the right choice of wallpaper.

Wallpaper: random joy
Icons: stickers by David Lanham
Shortcut arrows removed with Vista Shortcut Manager
What you can’t see: Launchy, Teracopy

As you can see, a simple icon pack and the right wallpaper can transform the dullest desktop without committing any system memory to the cause. If you like the idea but aren’t quite sold on these specific icons, check out the previously posted All About the Icons desktop, which sports another set of beautiful icons.