SliderDock 2.1

Dockers or launchers are software applications which purpose is to facilitate the user’s access to given programs or services. SliderDock is not just another one of those programs. Actually, SliderDock is different from the rest of software launchers, which allows me to say that the developer has done his best in conceptualizing what he calls “the next evolution of dock application launcher”.

The software has no interface of its own, at least in the traditional sense. It appears as a ring of buttons on your computer’s desktop. Although the initial ring comes with a group of default icons, you can easily customize it by dragging other software icons into it. What is more, you can create other rings, which will let you classify icons according to different criteria.

The shortcuts to programs represented by icons can be easily accessible using the mouse or the keyboard. You can even use the mouse wheel to rotate the ring and click on the desired application’s icon. Furthermore, this software appearance is highly customizable; everything from the icons to the color palette can be changed.

It is too bad that this program still seems to have some bugs. While testing it, SliderDock failed to show on the desktop after I closed or minimized the active window, and the only way to have it back was through the icon that remained in the System Tray. The program also reported fatal errors at least twice and simply was closed in such situations. In my opinion, SliderDock’s developer still has some pendant work to make this application’s performance worthy of its excellent conceptualization.