desktop shortcuts

Kana Launcher Triggers Floating Shortcuts with a Hotkey

11:40PM Kevin Purdy | Windows only: Free menu and icon launcher Kana Launcher won’t be a boon to those who’ve given Launchy or another app-finder a home on their desktop, but it might just fit the bill for those looking to reduce desktop clutter and stop digging through Start menus. Sitting in the system tray, Kana lets you assign the folders, files, and programs you want to access to a floating tray of icons, a collapsible menu list, or all-in-one system tray icons. You can assign multiple programs to a single “Group Launch” list, and set a delay between opening each app to save your memory the strain. Kana Launchers is a free download for Windows systems only. Kana Launcher [Example Source via Freeware Genius] More »

Hack Google (Maps) URLs for Quick Searching

1:00AM Kyle Pott | Frequently using Google Maps for directions? Reader Pham writes in with a simple but interesting way to save time when looking up directions. Basically, the multi-step process of going to Google [Maps], typing in an address, clicking submit, etc., can be avoided by just putting all your info directly into the URL. For example typing this works: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1683 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA More »

Remove or Modify Alias Arrows

11:00PM Gina Trapani | Mac users: You already know how to customise shortcut arrows on your Windows PC, and you can do the same on aliased folders and files on the Mac (which include a small black arrow on the lower left by default). To remove aliased item arrows entirely, a simple Terminal command plus a killall Finder does the trick. Otherwise you can create a custom icon and copy it deep in the bowels of OS X to overwrite the default. Looks like another nice Finder customisation for those of you who use aliases often. Remove or modify alias arrows [Mac OS X Hints] More »