Because in the end, a shortcut is only useful if it actually... shortens the path. If you have to spend ten seconds searching for the right icon among 50 others, you might as well have used the Start menu.
The argument from Redmond is logical: Why have a permanent shortcut to Excel on your desktop when you can just press the Windows key, type "Ex," and hit Enter? The search bar is algorithmic; the shortcut is static. windows desktop shortcuts
The genius was the . Microsoft’s UX team knew that deleting a shortcut should not delete the actual program. That tiny arrow was a warning label and a promise: "You are holding a pointer, not the treasure." The Psychology of "Saving It for Later" Why does every Windows desktop inevitably look like a game of digital Tetris gone wrong? Behavioral psychologists point to a concept called "progressive disclosure" gone haywire. Because in the end, a shortcut is only useful if it actually