Keybreeze: Good but not Amazing
After using Keybreeze for a total of ten minutes, I was pretty much dumbfounded and annoyed by the user interface and its overall appearance. Indeed, the application does use less resources than Launchy, but it is not very user-friendly nor intuitive. Some applications require as much as one letter, while an app that starts with the same letter might take a whole word to find the right program.
Also, adding in new programs was an eyesore. Adding a miscellaneous program on a different partition took about 3-7 clicks to add it in along with associating it to a key command. Although I do appreciate the programmed hotkeys for typical searches like the dictionary, Wikipedia and the sorts, there is a very slim chance that I would actually use the other features like checking the theatres or the weather.
Whereas the macros function is a very useful function, I would rather stick with Launchy and tell it the directories that I want indexed.
All in all, Keybreeze is a good program, but not exactly for beginners and impatient users. Honestly, this program has more features than it really needs. Stick with launchy for those who want immediate results and an easy-to-use interface.
Posted on October 3, 2007, in Computer Programs, Software and tagged Freeware, Keybreeze, launchy, Shareware, Shortcut Launcher, Software. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
Welcome to the Underground. 
I took a look at keybreeze.com, and although it appears to do more than launchy, the skins are just frickin’ ugly.
Plus, keybreeze cannot index your hard drive on the fly like launchy can.
You have to realize that Keybreeze is A LOT faster than Launchy because it doesn’t index your hard drive on the fly. When I use Launchy to open something, I first have to press Alt + Space, which is a very awkward finger movement, and when I start typing, it’s slow! There’s at least a second delay for each letter I type into Launchy because it indexes too much.
With Keybreeze I can just press the semicolon, start typing (and the auto-complete reacts instantly), and then the program even launches instantly.
So overall, while Keybreeze may not be as easy to use as Launchy, it definitely responds faster, loads faster, and has more features. I’ll take that in a program any day.
Welcome visitor!
Although I have not tried Keybreeze myself yet, I may have to just to get a feel for it.
For the meantime though, I do enjoy Launchy, I have a fast enough computer, and I love how it indexes on the fly. I don’t see this second delay like you proclaim it has.
You do note that you can change the Alt+Space configuration right?
Also, what if you need to type a real semicolon, wouldn’t keybreeze unintentionally pop up?
I’m not looking here to convert anyone to any single program. Sure keybreeze has more features, but will you succumb to use them all? I know I won’t. I cherish hard drive space effectiveness. 😛
Also, my launchy has gotten so good that I can type in “fi” into Launchy and already Firefox is at my fingertips. Muaha.
hah, i win: f = firefox lolol
Keybreeze imo is a bit slower. contrary to your thought, launchy DOES NOT continue to reindex. it reindexes on a timer, say 5 min, or if you manual say so. You can change the timer however. launchy is much faster to install, and it actually is more flexible.
plus, you can add on to it. AND, you dont need different versions (USB, normal) unlike KB which has a seperate USB, Free, and Pro version. and pro version doesnt give you anything really good tbh…
Actually I win… With Keybreeze, there’s no reason to type “firefox”. All I have to do is type a web page (e.g. yahoo.com) and it opens in Firefox.
Sorry sunfizz, but this is a poor evaluation of Keybreeze. You obviously didn’t explore the text functions, notes and reminders, preset commands (such as shut down, restart, screen saver, etc.), multiple target launches (one keyword could open 5 web pages, etc.), and numerous other features that Launchy fails to have.
It’s impossible to use Keybreeze for 10 minutes and write an evaluation on it. I would recommend you try it again and re-evaluate after you read the entire tutorial, skim over all the startup tips, and use the features you didn’t talk about. The web page below has a great demo over the notes:
http://www.keybreeze.com/notes.html
thanks for the input, i am actually in the current phase of testing this program out. sunfizz did a quick review; this is before we started getting massive hits.
Hey, I appreciate your concern there Klydor. It is true, Sunfizz didn’t do a hardcore in depth look at it, he sort of skimmed the program.
I do know that Keybreeze has a hell of a lot more features than Launchy, so yes, that is what makes it better.
Once again, I am not looking at converting anyone to any one program. Both programs are great in their own regards.
Wow – 2009 already! I just stopped by to add my vote for Keybreeze. I’ve used it for years and it’s one of my “must-have” programs.
A previous poster asked if you type a semi-colon won’t Keybreeze start up? To enter a semi-colon (e.g. into a document, simply strike teh key twice, and all it does is inserts the semi-colon.
You also have the option of changing the semi-colon to whatever else you want, in order to start Keybreeze. It’s a good ‘un.
Surely My Vote goes to KeyBreeze, Never used Launchy but I like KB, Although Adding entry is bit difficult, if I type the entry which is not available it should given me an option to add instead it says Search the computer (It is OK) but Create xxxx that open a webpage is not what I expect.
I am loving Find and Run Robot right now.