# How many icons on your desktop? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 1, 2002, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282 "2002-04-01T22:49:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/1 "2002-04-01T22:49:28Z")
I’m running Win95, and I’ve got 15 icons: Network Neighborhood, My Computer, Recycle Bin, AOL IM, Netscape Communicator, MS Internet Explorer, 2 icons for Agent (each “pointed” at different newsgroup servers), Paint Shop Pro, MS Word, Winamp, AudioGalaxy, Notepad, MS-DOS prompt, and Windows Explorer. ---
**Author:** ![Natural-J-Bankie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Natural-J-Bankie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Natural-J-Bankie)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/2 "2002-04-01T22:56:30Z")
Win XP Pro - 0 icons In addition I have 3 on the quick launch bar - IE, Windows Explorer, and Winamp. Only one visible icon in the tray - Trillian. ---
**Author:** ![ringmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9e8a1a/32.png) [@ringmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ringmaster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/3 "2002-04-01T23:35:01Z")
I have Win98. I have 4 icons. My Computer My Documents Internet Explorer Recycle Bin (in that order from the top) ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/4 "2002-04-01T23:46:41Z")
Win XP. 1 icon. Recycle Bin. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/5 "2002-04-01T23:48:30Z")
Oh, to follow Natural-J-Bankie’s lead. No quick-launch bar. 1 icon visible in the system tray. Zone Alarm. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/6 "2002-04-02T00:00:09Z")
22 Aerosmith Desktop aliases Documents Homework Laura Logs lyrics other pictures rasp1.gif Tilery TroyMcClureSF’s Buddies WaMu alias CD covers jjtm Video Buddy Icons Aerosmith Bootlegs FileTyper Trash Macintosh HD Downloads and sits Photos ---
**Author:** ![sundog66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@sundog66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sundog66)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/7 "2002-04-02T00:02:27Z")
Unfortunately, I save things to the desktop so they will be easy to find later, and it really stacks up after awhile (plus I haven’t weeded through them lately). Currently there are 40 icons on my desktop. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/8 "2002-04-02T00:17:24Z")
Win Xp - one icon on desktop, recycle bin. Ten icons on Quick Launch bar. I take the programs I use most frequently that would normally be on the desktop and stick them on the QL. I like looking at my wallpaper, not icons. ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/9 "2002-04-02T00:20:40Z")
I’m on Mac OS X. I have no icons on the desktop, 15 icons in the Dock (Finder, IE, Entourage, AIM, MSN Messenger, Word, Quicken, Final Draft, Watson, Terminal, iTunes, Home folder, Applications, Documents, Trash). Kirk ---
**Author:** ![Palve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Palve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palve)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/10 "2002-04-02T00:54:47Z")
Using MacOS X. Fourteen icons on my desktop. One is a folder called “CRAP” that I swept all my previous icons in. 😃 I’ll never be organized. Other icons on my desktop, with explanations: coneflower.jpg: Picture of a flower that encompasses the Fibonacci numbers. Also a very beautiful picture. dime.jpg: Picture a friend sent me of an oddly-damaged dime. Gismu List.cwk: A list of vocabulary words in Lojban EV Nova 1.0.0: Escape Velocity Nova, a kick-ass game I just downloaded a few days ago. EVNova1-1.0.0.sit: The compressed version of that game, and a file I should have thrown out by now, taking up 75MB of my computer space… Levi: This is my hard drive, named after, well, me. parade.jpg: Funny picture from last year’s Winter Carnival Parade. The theme was trains, because of the railroad they recently got running after decades of non-use. Well, just check it out for yourself. 😃 =\> [http://www.freewebz.com/levi/parade.jpg](http://www.freewebz.com/levi/parade.jpg) Picture 1: Accidentally pressed the “take a picture of the screen” hotkeys while playing a computer game. Picture 2: Did it again. Picture 3: And again. Picture 4: Once more. script.png: Image of the writing system for my conlang. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/11 "2002-04-02T01:07:48Z")
I’m at work, Windows NT. 47 desktop icons plus 9 in the system tray. ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/12 "2002-04-02T01:15:46Z")
WinXP 2 Desktop recycle bin and my computer 37 in the quick launch bar (most i use on a daily basis…errr weekly basis…eerrrrr shut up i like to have them handy) 7 icons in the tray: avg (antivirus),zonealarm,creativelabssoundthingymabob,network connection icon,trillian,audiogalaxy and tweakxp dead0man ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/13 "2002-04-02T01:31:59Z")
(Hangs head in shame) 1. I use maybe 5 with any regularity. This is the ugly side of a 19" monitor. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/14 "2002-04-02T02:14:24Z")
Windows XP Pro No icons and no quicklaunch System tray bare too. Mmm… haiku! FTR, I open all my programs through the run key. It’s much faster than clicking on silly icons. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/15 "2002-04-02T02:29:13Z")
Windows 98 SE, and I keep the icons to two columns on my 17" monitor. Any more, and I start weeding. In order: Artemis (aka My Computer), The Hood (aka Network Neighborhood), Recycle bin, AIM (which I rarely use), Digital Audio Center, Easy CD Creator, Excel, Windows Explorer (I changed the icon so it looks like the town portal from Diablo), Front Page, ICQ, IE, L View Pro, Lord of Destruction, mIRC, Norton, NoteWorthy, Palm Desktop, Quicken, Planescape: Torment, Windoctor, a file program, and Word. There’s also a couple of random things I’ve temporarily saved for my roommate. Other than that, nothing but the Rock staring at me from a Scorpion King promo still. 😃 My mother, on the other hand, is still running 95 (I think) and is fanatical about nothing being on her desktop – last I checked, only My Computer in the corner. Not even a nifty background. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/16 "2002-04-02T03:39:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Manda JO \* > \*\*(Hangs head in shame) > > 1. > > I use maybe 5 with any regularity. > > This is the ugly side of a 19" monitor. \*\* Ahhhh, a soulmate 😉 I have 123 on the desktop… among them: All Sorts of Crap Misc. Garbage Shortcuts I DO Use (“Shortcuts I Don’t Use” is in the ‘All Sorts of Crap’ folder) A shortcut to “More Misc. Stuff” A shortcut to “Other Stuff” Add to those gems a Quick Launch bar with 30 items on it, 13 items currently in Systray, and an Office Bar with, uhm, 35 items on it. I really need help. :o Mike ---
**Author:** ![RaCha\_ar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@RaCha\_ar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaCha_ar)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/17 "2002-04-02T03:42:15Z")
Win XP. My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, Recycle Bin, Internet Explorer, a shortcut link to my Earthlink DSL connection, OfficeJet Manager, a folder containing Progress Quest :D, AIM, LiveJournal, Morpheus, Palm Desktop, PowerTools, and WINAMP. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/18 "2002-04-02T04:42:37Z")
Mac OS 9. Four at the moment. My hard drive (Squidgey 4) A folder, “Apartments” (I’m apartment hunting) A folder, “Stuff” (various clippings, downloads of the day) And my Trash can, which is showing stuff is in it. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/19 "2002-04-02T13:22:40Z")
Win XP Pro - 1 icon. Recyle bin ---
**Author:** ![Cougarfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Cougarfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cougarfang)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282/20 "2002-04-02T13:38:00Z")
Windows… Windows… dagnabbit, I forgot _hangs head in shame_ Lessee, 27 icons. A respectable amount. The usual stuff (My Computer, My Documents, etc.), my file (Touch And You Die, meant to keep out my kid sister. I don’t think it’s working…), Snood (oh shuttup), Netmeeting, Daliworld, AIM, etc. etc. etc. Mostly folders or programs, no free documents (they’re all neatly [sub]more or less[/sub] filed away). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-icons-on-your-desktop/101282.md?page=2)