Here's a question: If you're a Windows user who is sufficiently "powered" (as in power user), then why are you still launching things from the Start Menu? When I was a Windows user, I rarely used the Start Menu. It was, in my view, the worst part of Windows. Vista improved things -- please, hold your jeering until the end of the speech -- with the type-to-search feature; conveniently available at the press of the Windows key. In WinXP, I memorized many application executable names so I could press winkey+R to invoke the run dialog, then launch the app from there. Vista meant I no longer had to memorize! Yay!

On OS X, I'm intensely addicted to Quicksilver. I know many others who use Alfred, or even the built-in Spotlight search feature, all of which are invoked from a readily accessible keyboard shortcut.

There must be a Windows equivalent? If not, here's a pro-tip for Microsoft: build a smart launcher in to the OS, and make the back-end pluggable so others can write their own alternatives and market them. Power users will shut up about the new Start screen, because they'll never bother with it. The rest of us will enjoy our shiny new dynamic tiles and can get on with our lives.