Patent ID: 8751951

Claim:
A method for controlling computer-based instances, comprising: in response to receiving a selection of an empty location of a desktop screen of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for a computer, displaying an instance control function comprising a point of access to a window comprising instance categories; determining whether at least one of the instance categories is left-clicked or right-clicked; in response to determining that the at least one of the instance categories is right-clicked, displaying an option to launch a new instance corresponding to the right-clicked instance category, receiving a selection of the option, and launching the new instance; in response to determining that the at least one of the instance categories is left-clicked, displaying a second window comprising a list of computer-based instances corresponding to the selected at least one of the categories in the GUI, receiving a selection of an instance from the list, the selection indicating a desired action for the selected instance, and controlling the selected instance based upon the desired action.