I wish this had been around (or at least known to me) before I started using Windows 7 RC… The cluttered desktop used to be a huge problem for me that I have since solved using the Libraries system in Windows 7 and a little discipline. I may still install it and try it out though — does it slow down your start up? Even more than having a bunch of clutter on your desktop does, I mean?

As for launchers/docks, I used RocketDock for a while and enjoyed it. Tends to slwo things down a bit though and would some times hang — at least on computers with lower ram.

Also, I have used Launchy. It is pretty cool and never seemed to cause slow down for me. On my old xp machine I used Google Desktop for a while, but that thing caused massive slowdown after a while. I am pretty sure you can tweak it to be less of a hog, but it was a bit piggish for me.