It does not make sense for instance to run an email client, a streaming video or music service, or a sftp client without network connection. Those programs usually do not need to run and the majority of users close them manually in those situations.

NetLaunch basically automates the process. The application can be used to configure applications and actions that the program will perform when the net connection drops and becomes available. It is for instance possible to launch applications with the help of NetLaunch as soon as an Internet connection becomes available, or close some that are not needed when no connection is available.

Available actions are to launch a program with command line parameters if necessary, to quit or kill an application or do nothing. NetLaunch monitors the network connection of the computer and will apply the selected actions when a change is noticed.

Situations where NetLaunch may be useful:

• To automatically close programs when the Internet connection drops, to prevent connection errors or to save battery
• To launch applications when an Internet connection becomes available, e.g. an email client to check for new emails or an Instant Messenger for communication

The program settings hold the scan interval and an option to minimize the application to the Windows System Tray. NetLaunch has been developed as part of Donation Coder’s NANY 2011 challenge. It can be downloaded directly from the Donation Coder website. The software requires the Microsoft .NET Framework, a version is unfortunately not listed on the website.

I was left with no choice but to wait until my Internet connection would be working again. This was an awkward situation for me because it disturbed my usual work flow which sees me working in the morning, getting out some posts, checking stats and creating new content for other sites that I own. All of this was delayed.

What could I do in the time that my Internet connection was down? I decided to run scan disk on all of my hard drives and Smart Defrag afterwards to optimize them. This are tasks that do not require my attention and I went to town earlier than I wanted to grab two Japanese learning books that I ordered and bring in my Nokie N73 cellphone which stopped working suddenly.

But the real question that would interest me is this: What are you doing if your Internet connection is down? Are you doing something else? I suppose that only a few of you are making their money working on the Internet which might mean that it is not tragic if you cannot connect to the Internet for a few hours.