Pinning applications to the Task Bar

The new Windows 7 operating system has apparently changed the way you access programs (applications). I'm not familiar with Vista, but in XP, you either go to the Start menu, and then choose All Programs, or you can access them via the Quick Launch feature of the Task Bar, which is a lot quicker. However, when you install a new program, it does not always install an icon on the Task Bar. Never fear - you can easily add it manually. Simply drag an icon from your desktop down to just left of the >> (chevron) symbol.

If you drag the dotted vertical line just to the right of the chevron, you can reduce or increase how many of the Quick Launch icons display. Clicking on the chevron pops up a display of the remainder.
As I use this feature extensively, I rapidly found the list becoming unwieldy, so I created folders into which I could group icons.

Unfortunately, finding where to create those folders is a bit laborious. Go to: Documents & Settings/Owner/Application Data/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Quick Launch. However, once you have created one, in future you only have to double-click on the folder in Quick Launch and it brings the folder to the desktop, whereupon you can exit up one level and create more.
Of course, if you'd rather your PC looked more like a Mac, there are several free programs that can turn you Task Bar into a Pac look-alike. For instance, choose from ObjectDock, or XWindows Dock.