I don’t like a cluttered desktop or Program List. Most of the time, I won’t let an application add icons to Quickstart (the >> between the taskbar and the icons on the left) or desktop, unless it’s a program I’ll access frequently. The most frequently applications get to live in Quickstart.
According to this Seattle Times article, Computer makers cut down on desktop clutter. Who needs to have an icon or program shortcut in multiple places?
Since I like things organized, this is how I set up my desktop, Quickstart and Program shortcuts in Start:
* **Keyboard button shortcuts**: Programs accessed daily (email, main browser, IM, Palm).
* **Quickstart and Start**: Frequently accessed programs not in keyboard shortcut (text editors, other browsers, business apps, Web design-related apps).
* **Desktop**:
– Infrequently accessed applications that I use from time to time (spyware checkers, video editor, Belarc Advisor).
– Applications I’m currently reviewing (I uninstall the application when I’m done).
– Applications I want or need to check out (otherwise I’ll never remember to search for them in the longer All Programs list).
* **All Programs**: Everything else.
Developers like to create their own folders and sometimes, a folder within a folder (this annoys me). So I get rid of sub-folders (usually it’s just one — makes no sense), and move the apps up into the main folder. I take the following:
\> Program Folder > Subfolder – Application – Uninstall
And change it to the following:
\> Program Folder – Application – Uninstall
I also have generic folders like Games, Communications (instant messenger apps), Media (media players and editors), Palm, and PocketPC. I move related apps into their folders and delete as many subfolders as I can. Thanks for indulging me — my apps look much better as I reorganized them while writing this entry.
I try to limit All Programs to three columns. Any more than that starts to spill over too far. At one point, the All Programs list crossed over to my second monitor. That was a sign to clean up.
