For years I used a product called DropDrawers to allow me to launch applications and keep my dock clean. Since going to Intel, there has not been a revision to this software. Now the developer has joined forces with DragThing to allow it to run like DropDrawers and I definitely like it.
The main purpose of DragThing is to make items on your Mac such as files, folders, applications, disks, URLs, clippings, and even windows, quickly and easily accessible, while taking up as little space on your screen as possible.
The main elements with which DragThing enables this speedy access are its docks. DragThing’s docks, unlike the Mac OS X system dock, are highly configurable and you can have multiple docks, customised to suit your specific circumstances.
DragThing also allows you to define a huge variety of hot keys. These hot keys can open items in docks, control various other aspects of DragThing and even control the visibility of and switching between other applications running on your Mac.
DragThing can also provide you with a Trash on your desktop, play sounds in response to actions like ejecting a CD, and a lot more besides.
The image on the right is how I have it configured.
DragThing is shareware. That means that you can download a copy freely to see if you like it, and if you decide to use it you should register your copy. In return for registering you will receive a serial number which will disable the reminder message at startup, and enable some extra features including floating dock windows and hot keys to open dock items.
A single user license for DragThing costs $29. Not a bad value for a nice tool.