14 DAY TRIAL // The Internet is filled with spin-offs of products included in Windows that promise better performance, a richer set of features and increased flexibility. FastTask’s purpose is not to supersede the features already available in Windows, but to offer the user a more comfortable solution for handling taskbar items.
It is almost invisible on the desktop as it docks to the left edge of the screen and won’t pop up unless you call it by moving the mouse cursor to its hiding place. FastTask does not come cheap, but you can use freely as long as you are not annoyed by its limitation. The price for this taskbar replacement is $12, which is a bit more than what most users would be willing to shell out.
The application installs with no fuss and once launched you will notice no change. However, a look in Windows Task Manager reveals its process and getting the mouse cursor to the left edge of the screen will uncover its interface.
When building the program looks were not important as the end result is as simple as can be, resuming only to what is necessary: a screen showing opened tasks and a context menu holding various options.
The only limitation we discovered during our testing was that in some cases it will not show the name of the task, replacing it with a message asking you to purchase the full edition of FastTask.
The purpose of the application is as simple as can be: lists the opened tasks available in Windows Taskbar and provides a set of options to handle them. You can switch focus to the selected by just clicking it, or minimize all the windows except for the selected one. Additionally, you can launch a new window of the selected task as well as close it.
FastTask does not sport any of the features present in Task Manager, so terminating the process of an application is not among the supported options. No other details except for what is provided in the title bar of the windows are shown. Another bit of information leading to the identification of the window is the icon of the application.
Visible in the lower part of FastTask screen is the current time, as displayed by the computer. The date is also present, but you have to hover your mouse over the time strip in order to bring it into view. It includes the day of the week, month, and year.
For $12 FastTask does not feature more advanced features and limits its abilities to displaying only the items available in the taskbar. In order to allow you to completely replace Windows taskbar we expected the app to include notification area or system tray elements as well.
We noticed that the configuration panel allows you to enable the display of the program name. The feature works, but not with all apps we used during the tests. We found out that Google Chrome and Internet Explorer are two of the exceptions to this rule. In their case we were given only the name of the active tab. Also, this will not remain enabled if you restart FastTask.
Further configuration in the program lets you modify the font. The options in this sense also cover font style, and size. If the program suits your needs you can have it launch with Windows, so that it is always on.
As far as resource usage is concerned, FastTask does not ask for much. In our case it maintained an almost constant 10MB of RAM requirement. CPU was not an issue, either.
On the upside, once you run the application it will not add its icon to Windows 7’s notification area, crowding the place. It will hide to the left edge of the desktop and become active the moment you move your mouse them.
It would be nice to have the possibility to move it to a different edge or set a specific trigger area for its launch. Currently this is proportional to the size of its window, so if you resize it vertically the trigger will be as large as the new size of FastTask.
You can use it to open a new instance of an already running application in a comfortable and easy manner. There is no system tray icon and when docked, it is totally invisible, so it will not intrude your desktop in any way. It will not display the name of the program for all the windows you open (but showing the icons should be enough for you to identify them). “Show Program Names” option remains active only until you restart FastTask. On the upside, it is easy to handle and, despite the small stack of options, it puts at your disposal useful choices.
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