I just downloaded Launchy version 2 from
http://www.launchy.net
What is it?
A free windows utility designed to remove the need for start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even file manager.
Simply press Alt+Spacebar to open the Launchy dialogue window and start typing. From program names to web browser searches you have previously performed it will guess what you want to open. 99.9% of the time it's right first time, too, and where it's unsure you will get a list to choose from.
I am told that Vista has something similar but I installed this on XP a few days ago and find it brilliant.
Note that so long as it's in your start menu (so it starts invisibly on XP startup) which it is by default, there is no need to add an icon to your Desktop or Quick Launch tray. This is why both of these options are switched off (unticked) by default when running the installation wizard. Simply let it start in the background (I have found no noticeable performance penalty) and then press Alt-Space when you want to use it.
A great utility.