Launch Apps From The Desktop

Windows 8 doesn't provide any obvious way to launch apps straight from the desktop, but this is actually surprisingly easy to set up. Right-click on an empty part of your desktop, select 'New->Shortcut', and type in 'Explorer Shell:AppsFolder' in the Location box. Click Next, enter a name then click Finish. Double-clicking on that shortcut will open a folder listing all your installed programs, including all apps, and you can launch whatever you like from there.