Windows 7 has been hailed as one of the best, if not the best, operating system. Among the many changes to Windows 7 that have made it such an excellent operating system are those made to the taskbar, most of which have been well-received by critics and the general Windows 7 population alike.  A wide range of graphical and functional changes have been made to the Windows 7 taskbar, making it perform much better, smoother, faster, and more intuitively, all while looking good at the same time.  Still many people prefer to have an application launcher dock in place of the taskbar. This article will cover some of the best Windows 7 compatible application launcher docks, as well as a nifty way to get rid of your taskbar to make your application dock the star of the [desktop] show.

Windows 7 compatible application launcher docks

*  RocketDock -  RocketDock has made a name for itself among the many application launchers and docks out there.  Aside from its primary application dock and application launching features, Rocket Dock also allows for full customization, a drag-and-drop interface, PNG and ICO icon support, auto-hide and pop-up features, positioning and layering options, portable application configuration, and support for a wide range of languages.

*  XWindows Dock -  This is an application dock that takes its cue from the Mac OS X dock. Some of the great features of this dock include customizable icons appearance and placing, support for numerous customized stacks, monitor folder options, and window minimizing features.

-  Circle Dock -  This is a great Open Source application launcher that has virtually limitless customization options.  The dock can be configured to pop out from your mouse cursor, or centered on your screen.  You can drag-and-drop files, rotate the wheel with your mouse wheel or keyboard arrows, change the look of the icons and skin of the dock, make use of customizable hotkeys, and much more.  This dock also supports compatibility with icons and skins from other docks, such as RocketDock and ObjectDock.

Eliminate your Windows 7 taskbar the easy way

Now, considering the rave reviews about the Windows 7 taskbar, it's hard to think of a reason why you would want to get rid of it.  If one of these application docks is good enough reason for you, however, you can grab the new Taskbar Eliminator 2.6 from Aviassin.  This is the simplest and easiest way to eliminate your taskbar.  All you have to do is download and install the application, then choose between the following options:

-  Hide taskbar
-  Show taskbar
-  Start with Windows
-  Don't start with Windows

The Taskbar Eliminator also has a hotkey default of "Alt + T" to show or hide your taskbar, or "Control + Alt + T" to show the Taskbar Eliminator preferences.

These days, many people are looking for various ways of managing, launching, and organizing their applications.  As such, one of the most popular types of software available are application launchers.  An application launcher is basically a program that allows you to easily launch applications on your computer with the use of hotkeys, keystroke combination, or mouse clicks.  The main idea behind application launchers is to make life easier, streamlining the way you search for and open your programs.  One of the most popular application launcher programs is called Circle Dock.  Circle Dock has a number of distinct advantages over the many other application launchers that you can find out there.  In this article, you will find an overview of some of Circle Dock's features, as well as a short background on the application.

How Circle Dock started

Circle Dock first made its debut around two years ago when the program was entered into a contest.  The contest was run by a website called Donation Coder, which is dedicated to those who love making, developing, and sharing software.  The site holds software programming contests every-so-often and Circle Dock was just one of the many programs that has been entered into a Donation Coder contest.  Circle Dock was created by a man named Eric Wong around two years ago.  Today, it has become a popular application launcher for Windows-based systems.

Features of Circle Dock

*  Circular-shaped application launcher -  As its name implies, Circle Dock is an application launcher that takes on a circular shape.  When invoked via a hotkey, the launcher shows and you can use your mouse to click on the folder, application, or file that you want to open.  You can also use the scroll wheel on your mouse to rotate the circle to the particular shortcut that you want to run.

*  Fully-customizable functionality and appearance -  Perhaps the best thing about Circle Dock is how customizable it is.  You can change the functions by customizing hotkeys, mouse combos, rotation speed, and, of course, the shortcuts on that are docked.  You can also get the perfect look by customizing the size, shape, transparency, and icons on the dock.

*  User-friendly -  When Circle Dock was released, one of the main complaints about the program was the fact that it lacked a user guide or help section that users could refer to to get the most out of the product.  This has changed, however, and you can now find forum discussions, help pages, FAQ pages, and wiki articles on Circle Dock and its many uses.

If you are looking for an application launcher that can help make your day-to-day computer use easier, more efficient, and even more stylish, then you may want to give Circle Dock a try.