Currently available computer operating systems use a “Start” menu for launching applications installed on a computer. The Start menu typically lists recently accessed programs. In addition, an “All Programs” option of the Start menu permits a user to navigate through multiple submenus to locate a program he or she wishes to open. The user then clicks on an appropriate user interface element to open the selected program. If a particular program does not appear on the Start menu or one of its submenus, the user may need to search for the program on the computer's hard drive. A typical Start menu also includes a “Favorites” section, which enables the user to open favorite Web sites and the like.
Unfortunately, the Start menu can become quite unwieldy over time as more and more applications are installed on the computer. The Start menu can easily consume an entire screen length and often has multiple columns and submenus. As such, many useful applications can become buried in several layers of menus, which make them very difficult to locate and launch.