True Launch Bar

True Launch Bar is an application that allows you to customize your desktop taskbar on Windows. Basically, it works just like your typical start menu, but in contrast to the one that comes by default on Windows, True Launch Bar is as as flexible as you could hope for.

Most importantly, True Launch Bar allows you to place your shortcuts wherever you find it convenient on your desktop. You can set up application launchers, folder shortcuts, virtual folders with tags, and links to different websites, among other things.

This software support the style of Windows XP and of Windows Vista Aero Glass, which you can tweak to your liking. You can export your current layout and save it in case you want to recover it at any time, in which case you just have to import it back. Apart from that, you can find a lot of different plugins on the creator's website, which add new and specific features, like the ability to add applications right from the taskbar, expand the clipboard's capacity, add a view of current processes and battery status, a launcher for the Windows console, and a lot more.