Billy Mays Caps Lock 1.0 Released

John T. Haller's picture
Submitted by John T. Haller on July 8, 2009 - 11:55am

Billy MaysAs a tribute to one of our favorite TV personalities, the unofficial Billy Mays Caps Lock 1.0 utility has been released. It lets you turn your caps lock key into something far more useful: a Billy Mays key. So, every time you hit Caps Lock, you hear one of Billy Mays' famous phrases. A simple, fun app as a change of pace. It's packaged in PortableApps.com Format so it can easily integrate with the PortableApps.com Suite. And it's open source and completely free.

Read on for more details...

Please vote for PortableApps.com in the 2009 SourceForge.net Community Choice Awards.

Features

To start Billy Mays Caps Lock, just click on the Billy Mays Caps Lock icon in your Windows Start Menu (or, with the portable version, in your PortableApps.com Menu). In your system tray, you'll see a small Billy Mays icon to indicate that it's running. While it's running, whenever you hit your Caps Lock key, you'll hear Billy Mays say:

  • "Hi, Billy Mays here"
  • "It'll make your whites, whiter"
  • "Order right now and we'll double the value"
  • "Here's how to order"

Learn more about Billy Mays Caps Lock...

Who was Billy Mays?

Billy Mays was a popular and successful American info-mercial personality who went on to star in the popular TV series PitchMen on Discover Channel. His distinctive beard and 'caps lock' sales pitches made him an easily recognized presence, and drove up sales of nearly every product he pitched. His son, Billy Mays III, is working on setting up a foundation in his name.

We miss you, Billy Mays

PortableApps.com Installer / PortableApps.com Format

Billy Mays Caps Lock is packaged in a PortableApps.com Installer so it will automatically detect an existing PortableApps.com installation when your drive is plugged in. And it's in PortableApps.com Format, so it automatically works with the PortableApps.com Suite including the Menu and Backup Utility.

Download

Billy Mays Caps Lock is available for immediate download from the Billy Mays Caps Lock homepage. Get it today!

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Comments

John T. Haller's picture

Maybe I'll add it in 1.1 Smile

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

The MAZZTer's picture

Needs "I guarantee it!" and "That's right!"
More ideas for you here maybe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifgggspJ7jM (Sadly, unsuitable for source material.)

Or just pick a random WAV from the directory so users can add their own quotes. Or even turn the app into a different celebrity-voice thing.

I'm not sure how that would work with AutoHotkey. If it's not possible it probably would work with AutoIt since it's a superset of AutoHotkey AFAIK (although the syntax is different).

Signature automatically removed for being too awesome.

He was that guy on TV who WAS ALWAYS YELLING! to buy [insert random semicool product here]. (Oxyclean, mighty putty, etc.) He was also on the Discovery Channnel show Pitchmen.

Use the search box! Please!

AS HE MENTIONED ON CONAN LESS THAN A WEEK BEFORE HE PASSED, 'IT'S NOT YELLING, IT'S PROJECTING.'

what in the name of..possessed you to do this? it's still awesome lol

I wanna see a michael jackson escape key next... and right after that, flying pigs!

Lead, Follow, or get out of the way.

What tool did you use to create the icon? I've been looking for something to get that effect from a photo but haven't found anything I like yet.

Hi, Patrick Patience here! Today I'd like to inform you you're flat-out awesome.

Thanks.

thats on purpose.

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

Chris Morgan's picture

It's unofficial; hosted at johnhaller.com

I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

disturb3d1's picture

It will make your whites whiter! Order NOW, and we will DOUBLE the value! Image this guy in bed... lol.

LOGAN-Portable's picture

This is the weirdest portable app ever. lol. hmm only 4 phrases is a bit limiting. I expected like a zillion phrases. Maybe selectable by pressing caps lock + another key. Hope you make many more phrases or make this into a generic quote babbler with random picking phrases from a user defined list, not only limiting from an unknown 'famous' infomercial dude. So maybe cool as a more generic tool?

John T. Haller's picture

In the portable version, look in the Other\Source directory. The file is called BillyMaysCapsLock.ahk. It's released under the GPL.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Sorry if the following question seems obvious or makes me sound like an idiot but, how do I compile the modified ahk or do I have the executable reference it?

oh dear god i saw this and laughed so hard. i thought this was fake but now i will pass the news of the program onto some friends Smile

Is the line "But Wait Theres More!" included Smile

Hi John,
First off, this is a brilliant app...I was wondering if by adding more .wav files to the location that the other .wav files exist and simply adding more else if statements to the end of the billycaps.ahk file will allow the app to have more sayings...Or is that something that needs to be addressed in the executable??? Just wondering...

Cheers,
Nick

Pyromaniac's picture

Billy Mays was the kind of guy you always got mad at for annoying you and you always wished he'd stop being on all those commercials (at least that's how I felt).

He was the kind of guy you felt like you knew without even knowing.

Now that he's gone, I kinda miss him.

Once in a while I'll see one of his commercials again (after he had passed) and I'd be all like "Hey! They still aired this commercial." And I'd think, wow, his commercials were so awesome that they still show it.

As for this app... I say its pointless... But I'll still use it.

BTW: I hate all the attention michael Jackson is getting after his death. Three weeks and the media still talks about him.

I never liked him because I don't like ads. It's not personal though, I have/had nothing against him as a person. You could even say I begrudged the success of his ads; they were successful because they were annoying.

As for MJ, he needs to be forgotten. Sure, he made good music in the 80s, but then he got weird, and abused some kids. He's like Gary Glitter, only more popular, he preferred kids of the same gender (Glitter used girls), and he had the money to pay off plaintiffs and jurors. I'm not 100% sure he did it, but I do know that if he weren't rich, he wouldn't have been acquitted - one of the jurors even said his fame and money were a factor. Justice should be blind, but it wasn't that day.

Three weeks is nothing. They'll be talking about him for a lot longer. But regardless of what both of these men did that annoyed others in one case, and hurt others in the other, the fact remains that they both entertained millions. That's what I prefer to think about it. (And hopefully we get some of his classic stuff, before all the weirdness, in Rock Band - the Alien Ant Farm cover of "Smooth Criminal" doesn't cut it. Where are "Bad", "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Thriller"?)