Linux users have a few good application launchers to choose from, but if we had to pick, the feature-filled favorite GNOME Do would have to win the title of best.

GNOME Do

Platform: Linux
Price: Free
Download Page

• Launch programs with just a few keystrokes
• Perform a ton of different actions through various plugins: Search the web, run terminal commands, perform calculations, search your Google contacts or Google Docs, and much, much more.

GNOME Do's biggest strength is its awesome plugin library. No other app launcher can compare. It has a few official plugins that search the web and other popular GNOME apps (Rhythmbox, GNOME Dictionary, Pidgin, and Tomboy, to name a few), as well as third-party plugins that fill in any voids the GNOME Do developers haven't tapped, like uploading photos to Flickr, searching Google Maps, connecting to SSH hosts, and so much more. Even though GNOME Do hasn't been updated in awhile, it's still the most popular app launcher out there, which means third parties will keep adding plugins that make it integrate with new apps and stay relevant.

As mentioned above, GNOME Do development seems to have stopped. Apart from that, the only thing we could wish to see was even more plugins, or maybe perhaps more preferences that let you create custom keywords a la Executor for Windows. It's also based on Mono, which some Linux users don't like because its based off Microsoft's .NET. Still, even without a ton of preferences, its plugin library makes it the most powerful launcher around.

Synapse is GNOME Do's most up and coming competition, featuring a Zeitgeist plugin that can do a lot of really cool things. It has a lot of the more basic plugins that Do has, like Rhythmbox, Dictionary, and so on, but its still fairly young, so GNOME Do still wins in terms of sheer features. If you don't like Do for any reason, though, Synapse would be one of the first places I'd look for a replacement.

Launchy, our favorite application launcher on Windows, is also available for Linux, and its just as great. It has a lot of preferences that let you tweak how you use the app, though it doesn't have quite as many plugins as GNOME Do—and it definitely doesn't integrate with Linux as well as GNOME Do does. But, if you're just using your app launcher for launching apps, it'll give you more control over how the program works, which is nice.

Lastly, Kupfer is a nice app launcher who's biggest strength is its speed. If you have a lower-powered machine, Kupfer is pretty lightweight, and will probably perform better than some of the options above. Like the others, it has a nice plugin library, though it can't match GNOME Do's. It's also pretty customizable, which if you're willing to do some work, can solve the problem of its ugly default interface.

Those are the best app launchers for Linux, though you may have your own favorites (not the least of which is probably the default "Run" command on your distro). Share your opinions with us in the comments.

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

One of the best things about Android is being able to customize everything about your home screen, which you do with a third-party application launcher. Android has more than one great launcher, but our favorite is LauncherPro, which finds the perfect balance between incredible performance and high customizability.

LauncherPro

Platform: Android
Price: Free, $3.49 Pro
Download Page

• Super-smooth scrolling
• Animated screen previews
• 2D and 3D app drawer with super-smooth scrolling
• Up to 7 home screens
• Scrollable shortcut dock
• Customizable icons via icon packs, downloadable from the Market
• Hide apps from the app drawer without uninstalling them
• Uninstall apps directly from the home screen or app drawer
• Transition effects between home screens
• Ability to adjust the number of columns and rows for both the home screen and app drawers, so you can fit more icons
• Unread SMS, Gmail, and missed call badges in the dock icons
• Swipable shortcuts for the dock icons, so you get double the shortcuts per icon
• Loads of memory tweaking settings so you can optimize it for older phones
• HTC Sense-like widgets for contacts, bookmarks, calendar, messaging, Twitter, Facebook, and Gmail (Pro only)
• Widget resizing for any widget, not just LauncherPro widgets (Pro only)

LauncherPro's performance is what sets it apart from other launchers. Scrolling between home screens and through the app drawer is insanely smooth, even on older phones. The memory settings are really useful for speeding it up on low-powered devices, too, so no one gets left out of the fun.

LauncherPro isn't short on features, though. From fitting more icons onto the home screen to the supercharged scrollable dock to uninstalling apps from the home screen, LauncherPro just makes Android easier to use. It aims to solve a ton of annoyances with the default Android launcher, and it does it well. Furthermore, it's even got some really nice customization options, like a fantastic suite of widgets and the ability to download icon packs from the Market and apply them in one fell swoop. It isn't quite as customizable as other launchers out there, but it's got quite a bit going for it, and has the great performance to tip the scales in its favor.

Honestly, there are very few downsides to LauncherPro. It could be a tad more customizable, like ADWLauncher, but unless you're a customization nut, you're unlikely to be disappointed by anything LauncherPro has to offer.

Despite how great LauncherPro is, the competition is still pretty heated, which should tell you how great the launcher scene is on Android. ADW.Launcher (and its paid brother, ADWLauncher EX) are very similar to LauncherPro, though with an added bit of customization. ADW EX has more home screen transitions and other graphical niceties than LauncherPro, though its performance isn't quite as stellar. If you're on a newer, high-powered phone, you might not notice a huge difference, but older phones might find ADW to be a bit slower. In addition, having been in the customization game a bit longer than LauncherPro, it has more "themes" available in the Market, which include both icon packs and wallpapers that go with them. It isn't quite as easy to use, sometimes, and offers fewer convenience features (like dock gestures), instead focusing on graphical eye candy. Honestly, it's probably just as good as LauncherPro, and you should check them both out if you're in the market for a new launcher.

GO Launcher EX is for customizing maniacs. Its Market themes change more than just icons: they also tweak the wallpaper, the app drawer, widgets, and much more. It also has more fancy transitions than you can shake a stick at. Of course, all this comes at the cost of performance. We wouldn't say its performance is bad or unstable, but it doesn't quite wow you like LauncherPro does, especially if you use the fancy transitions (which is to be expected). That said, if you like customizing your phone, it's probably worth a slight drop in smoothness.

Zeam is just about the fastest launcher on the Market, and perfect for old phones that need something lightweight and simple. It isn't nearly as feature-filled as other launchers, but it'll get the job done and get it done fast. It does still add a few other improvements, like a scrollable dock and animated screen previews, but if you're looking for customization, this isn't the launcher to use. If you're looking for blinding speed, you've come to the right place.

Lastly, Launcher 7 deserves a mention, merely for its ability to go in a drastically different direction while still being good. Launcher 7 turns your home screen into a Windows Phone 7-style scrolling set of tiles, which you can customize to your heart's content. It won't give you quite as many features as the typical Android launcher, but if you prefer a simpler experience without actually switching to Windows Phone, it's actually a really nice change of pace—plus it can still create some pretty great-looking home screens.

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

The iPhone's home screen is an app launcher, so it kind of seems like a silly thought to look elsewhere for the same functionality, but it's not as if the home screen is perfect. The best app launcher for iPhone is actually a combination of things: the built-in Spotlight search functionality and a jailbreak tweak called ListLauncher.

If you haven't jailbroken your iPhone yet, check out our always-up-to-date guide for assistance.

ListLauncher

Platform: iPhone
Price: Free
Download Page (Download via Cydia)

• Launch the app you need by typing its name and choosing it from the search results (Spotlight)
• Searches while you type (Spotlight)
• Displays a full list of apps on your device (ListLauncher)
• Quickly browse through apps, like you would your contacts, by tapping and sliding through the alphabet

If you have a bunch of apps, finding the one you're looking for can be tough if you don't remember exactly where you put it. This is one of the big downsides to the folder system on iOS—it's hard to figure out where things are. On the plus side, you have Spotlight so you can swipe left to right from (or press the home button on) your home screen's first page and you'll be able to search for the app you want. It's very quick and makes launching apps a lot easier than squinting at folders. Spotlight doesn't cover all the bases, however, as you might not remember the app's name, find it complicated to type, or just aren't in a position to easily type. That's where ListLauncher comes in. It provides you with a full list of all your apps that are organized just like your contacts. You can swipe down the list, or you can touch a letter of the alphabet to jump to its position. ListLauncher fills in the missing launcher functionality you don't get by default on iOS.

Alphabetical organization is the only option provided by ListLauncher. It would be nice to be able to organize by most popular and recently used as well. Additionally, being able to choose apps to leave out of the list would be helpful as well. When you're jailbroken, there are often a lot of things that show up that you don't want in the list, and that's probably the case with regular apps as well.

There isn't much competition in the app launcher department, but you do have a few options. All require jailbrekaing and (once jailbroken) you can find them by searching in Cydia.

Android Loader is a very simple option that creates the same kind of app drawer you'll find on Android. You just pull it up from the botton of the screen and it'll give you an alphabetical list of all your apps. You can also exclude certain apps if you don't want them in the list. Additionally, you'll get music controls at the top of the drawer so you can easily control your iPod (or other music app) as well. Note: Not compatible with iPad.

Quick Launcher uses a similar format but creates its list by how much you use specific apps. It also has a more iPhone-like interface, where Android Loader does not. Note: Not compatible with iPad.

Finally, Dock provides you with an OS X-style dock on your iPhone. This is in addition to the one you already have at the bottom of your home screen. The difference is that you can swipe up from the bottom corners of your device in virtually any app to bring up the dock. From there you can cycle through open apps.

Got a favorite app launcher not mentioned here? Share it in the comments!

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

Windows: Quick Menu is a free tool that enables you to launch programs with a tap of the middle button of the mouse.

The application is portable, so no installation is required—simply unzip and run the file inside. It creates a folder called "shortcuts," where you can place your applications and subfolders you want quick access to. Restart the program, then press Ctrl and the middle mouse button to quickly pull up the launch menu and click the program you want to launch.

Quick Menu only does one thing, but it does it well and it's a free download.

Quick Menu | Michael Uno via NirmalTV