Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Open Source
Capster: Start applications at login with your Caps Lock button
by Simon Kerbel Mar 3rd 2008 at 6:00PM
Capster is a small executable that allows you to select applications that will start upon boot-up only if Caps Lock is on. And by small, we mean small, as in 5 kilobytes. Wasn't that how big Zork was?If you're like us, then you probably have a list of applications that are set to automatically start when Windows starts: email clients, iTunes, and so on. But what if you only want certain applications to load at certain startups? Instead of going in and removing the applications as startup items, you can use Capster to assign them to run when, and only when, Caps Lock is on.
Capster is easy enough to use. First, you'll need to choose the program you want to run at startup. You do this by using the "Browse" button. Hit the create shortcut button and Capster will create a link to the program in your Startup folder. That's it. Now, if you leave your Caps Lock key on and restart your computer, your applications should automatically appear, as if by magic.
Funny option of the day: You can choose to automatically run an application if the Caps Lock key is off as well. This would only make sense if you usually have the Caps Lock key on, and only occasionally turn it off.
But who does that? The only ones we could think of are the forum posters who do all their ranting in caps. But that's just a small portion of us, isn't it?
Right?
Capster is a free download, and Windows only.
[via gHacks]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jaime said 7:35PM on 3-03-2008
ahaha, download squad is funny now!
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Gutter said 7:45PM on 3-03-2008
THIS COMMENT IS DISCRIMINATION FOR THE SHIFT KEY IMPAIRED!
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Taylor said 7:48PM on 3-03-2008
Hmm, this looks sweet, but i'd rather have it be a key i never use, like scroll lock or num lock. That way, i can leave the key set and use my computer as normal, rather than turning off caps-lock once it starts up (because i don't want it on when i'm USING the computer...), and then having to remember to turn it on again, every time i reboot.
-Taylor
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Taylor said 7:50PM on 3-03-2008
Or rather, what i meant to say was that i'd rather have it be a key that won't affect the computer's operation (in an appreciable way - i almost never use the number pad, but i need lowercase letters all the time) once the computer is on, rather than saying "a key i never use".
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burnblue said 8:33PM on 3-03-2008
I don't think it's such a "funny" option. I have a bunch of things that always automatically start up, and I would use the option this way for times when I specifically want the leanest startup possible.
Boot normally when Caps Lock is off, boot minimally when Caps Lock is on
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Chris said 6:10AM on 3-04-2008
Taylor: If you were to leave the key on all the time, that would defeat the object - you might as well just add your programs to the Startup folder.
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rossruns said 8:45AM on 3-04-2008
This is a great idea. I have a lot of programs that I'd love to have running on my regular startup, but would prefer NOT to have them start up when I'm booting my computer near clients/coworkers. Not that I have a problem with all my applications, but they're a bit unwieldy and time consuming and it would be nice to streamline the Windows startup process in these situations.
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James said 11:14AM on 3-04-2008
Wouldn't it make more sense to just have a desktop shortcut to start all your bloaty crap manually? It's easy enough to disable run-at-startup programs, so why not "boot lean" every time and run things when you need them?
Or, if you're going to use a utility like this, have it be the *only* program that runs at startup, then have a bunch of buttons/hotkeys to pick which "login set" you want to run, maybe with a timeout after which some default is chosen. Hey, I should totally write that =-)
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