Review: Krento is a productivity-boosting launcher and Start-menu replacement - taylorcultin

At a Glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

Has an excellent online user manual
Many skins to choose from and complete control over appearance
Can be controlled victimisation mouse or keyboard

Cons

Not a very jolly program
Doesn't musical accompaniment eightfold monitors precise well

Our Verdict

Krento is perfect for option launcher lovers and customization freaks.

For most of us, it's no big deal launching programs and websites, nor opening files and directories. Click a shortcut here, a bookmark there, and you're on your mode. For some, however, this feels terribly clunky. Fortunate-known solutions much as Launchy, ObjectDock, and RocketDock attempt to solve this problem by introducing innovative launchers, but they'ray not right for everyone. Krento is an alternative made for anyone who's unsuccessful with plain old Windows, and is look for a new and easy way to launch everything from unrivalled place.

Krento's application circles and Toys sit down anyplace you want on your background.

Krento is advanced and useful, but its show is not very polished. Made aside a single developer in his spare time, it's more about pure productivity than about looks. Krento is well-stacked approximately elements known as Stones (launcher icons), which are part of one or more application circles. The central element is a manager, used to control all circles and stones.

The program comes with united built-in circle, which includes frequently used folders, Wikipedia and Google research, and Internet Explorer. There's also a task-manager circle with all your currently operative programs. During the installation appendage, you can choose to "instal additional circles" which will tote up a king direction circle, a social networks circle, a control panel circle, and a desktop circle.

The default circles are alone suggestions, of run. Through the managing director, or aside using Krento's multiple keyboard shortcuts, you commode configure your own circles and add your own stones. A pit can constitute anything from a program, file, folder, or verify panel app, to a site, your new date, time, and IP cover, or a power-direction action such as shut down or lumber off. You stool also use drag and drop to change any existing stone by dragging a program, file, brochure, etc. onto information technology. When creating a new stone, the first thing you do is select the stone's type. A chromatic's type fixes it for one purpose only, and this cannot be denaturised unless you change the type. For example, you cannot drag a booklet onto a website rock.

Use the Applications browser to launch whatsoever program or file just same a Start menu.

Krento might not be focused on looks, just that's not to say appearance isn't configurable. In fact, Krento comes with dozens of opposite skins you can apply, each bringing new-sprung colours, shapes and transparency into the mix. You can also fine-tune circle size, icon sized, stone size, transparency, and anything other you can think back of. Finished the options, you can set up specific keyboard and mouse actions for activating Krento, control other modality elements, and yet backup your personal configuration into a ZIP file.

The third important element you'll notice is the Krento Pulsar. This is a rhythmical red circle that sits in the turn down rightfield corner of your screen. You can use it to perform several actions much as accessing the options, the Applications browser, and the impressive online documentation.

From here you give the axe also install additive elements called Toys. Krento toys are in fact desktop widgets, and are either useful ones indicating time, date, Central processing unit usage, and in stock hard phonograph recording blank space, OR fun ones such as a swimming Carassius auratus, a icy Christmas tree, etc. Note that piece the website maintains that Krento supports docklets from ObjectDock and RocketDock, this is actually no longer the case. You can, however, create your own docklets if you care to program, or download a couple of others on Krento's support assembly.

It's very user-friendly to add, polish of and configure circles or stones

Krento's aforementioned Applications browser can Be used to launch any program or file by using a Start-carte-like live search; start typing a name and results will appear in material time. Krento is meant to substitute your desktop icons, bookmarks, and even your Start menu, so IT's doubly useful on Windows 8, and will plane support tinge gestures in the time to come.

Krento's pretty nonrational to use, but includes numerous options and features you'll find only past exploring the online documentation, so if you're looking for a platform you bum install and depart victimization immediately, this is not it. If, however, you'Ra willing to invest an hour or two in reading, playing, and configuring, you'll find that Krento can revolutionize the right smart you use your PC.

Government note: This software comes in 32-act and 64-bit editions. The Download clitoris connected the appropriate Product Information page will download the software to your organisation.