>>>> typing the name of your program is much easier and faster than searching through a hierarchical menu
>>>
>>>Absolutely agree; especially when a program is buried under several levels of hierarchical menu (under a big W, lol). And not for just programs; e.g. typing keywords 'print', 'down' allows reaching computer resources fast without memorizing shortcuts.
>>
>>Anatoly, What do you think is easier for the average user:
>>
>>Memorizing a command
>>
>>or
>>
>>Memorizing an Icon and its location?
>>
>>
>>I personally would not bet on the first, esspecially if you work with different windows versions in different languages and considering the fact tha MS tends to change the names of the items previously found on the windows menu.
>
>They change the icons and their locations as well. I've seen various Office apps in rather different locations in the main menu. SQL server as well - sometimes it takes me several days to get used to how things are named and laid out in the menu.
>
>The names of the programs are an even worse offender - most of the .exe and .dll files in windows folders still use 8.3 names (!). Just try to remember what dism.exe, dccw.exe, dpapimig.exe, efsui.exe, icardagt.exe‚, mshta.exe, netiougc.exe etc etc do. Same in program files: Dwtrig20.exe, ielowutil.exe, qrdrsvc.exe, snapshot.exe, LandingPage.exe, rdbgsetup.exe (the last four belong to SQL but you'd never guess), wabmig.exe (windows mail), mspdbsrv.exe, vsta.exe... or (in my q:\sopstver folder), Cnezmain.exe, cmview.exe, IJRMF.exe (something in Canon's folders) and so on and so on. And that's almost 20 years after long filenames were introduced to windowses.
>
>But in all except a very few cases, I don't need to know program names, such as they are in the filesystem, nor such as they are labeled. I can call them by any words put in the shortcuts (on either desktop, start menu, or any of the toolbars). A good MRU app can memorize the names I use for them (and under "good" I don't mean "your machine goes to take a leak while the system stops to index everything and re-cache icons"), and then it can run the software or open my frequently opened documents after I've opened the searchbox and typed no more than 4-5 characters, most often just two (http://www.launchy.net/ is what I'm talking about).
>
>And, before I forget, the desktop icons. I don't have any on my machine, but on a couple of servers I visit regularly, and in my virtual machines, I have them. So far I haven't managed to get any version of windowses to permanently keep them where I left them. They don't have keep their positions true to the pixel, I'd just like them to keep their general layout - groupings, what goes in the middle, what goes to top right, that kind of thing. But no, Microsoft has not, from W95 until W7, mastered the skill of keeping the icons laid out. At least four times a year the icons wake up lined alphabetically along the left edge of the desktop. Since Microsoft (as the guy said in the blog) doesn't fix things, things get replaced with other things, the icons are now replaced with tiles. Problem isn't solved, it's replaced with a larger problem :).

I use desktop shortcuts for programs but not documents. It makes me a little dizzy when I see a PC with the desktop practically covered with shortcuts. The half dozen programs I use regularly have desktop shortcuts, which I consider the best shortcut of all. No navigation required, just double click.