Launchy goes through your start menu and keeps an index of all the shortcuts (though you can add other folders and specify file extensions for each, the screenshot I used as an image is set to look in a music folder for MP3 files) and by hitting the default Alt+Space brings up an aesthetically pleasing and re-skinnable dialog box. You type, it finds. It also learns, much like auto-complete, which items you are using the most and defaults to those. The auto-complete it uses is remarkably good at extrapolating what you're looking for. "intex" finds Internet Explorer, as I intended it to, even without ever launching Internet Explorer through it, even though I hardly use the disgusting thing.

It also comes with three plug-ins by default. One, "Weby", gives you configurable web shortcuts, searches, and bookmark indexing. Another, "Calcy", lets you to type in equations and get results without the extra clicks to the calculator. The last one, Runner, is more technical when you get into the configuration and you can launch programs with command line parameters with text shortcuts. Both Weby and Runner come with defaults that are easy to use as examples when you set up your own.

Reaching for some sort of connection, I guess you can use it to launch games or open Destructoid, but it's just one of those things that can make life better for nerds.