For several years Linux has enabled to run a command by name with a little "Run Command" application, often accessed by pressing Alt-F2.

This is my favorite way to launch applications since it can be done with the keyboard by just remembering the name of the application.

In Ubuntu Gutsy, this little tool has become more useful.

No longer do I need to remember that the program run by OpenOffice is called 'oowriter'.

Now I can just start typing "OpenOffice", and it will show me the icon and name for "OpenOffice Writer" as an option.

If I type "Mail", it shows me the options for the "Thunderbird" and "Evolution" e-mail programs. Great!

However, it's not quite a mind-reader. I tried typing "PDF", but no PDF reader program came up, although there was one installed.

The Deskbar Applet was able to complete that task for me. When I search for "PDF" with it, it offered launching the Evince Document Viewer as option.