You think this is a new problem? You must be new here.

My home phone is a piece of dried mammoth hide stretched across some sticks that I beat with a rock.

The article was hosted on a computer. That makes it nerdy. Very nerdy.

Yes, nothing like the default Linux ui. It's so elegant I can duplicate it without using anything but text. Here it is, the Linux default UI in all its glory:
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WinME FTW

Except now instead of maintaining one website, you're maintaining one app for Windows, one for Mac, three (or four or five...) for Linux, one for iPhone, one for Android, one for...

Those are called "websites" and they already have one that works fine on any platform.

Are you saying that scientists have an evolutionary predisposition to promote evolution?

Easily solved. Just visit xboxone.com and you will immediately notice it's a parked domain.

It happens when you bombard the cells with slightly greasy solar atoms.

How have I missed seeing all these kids littered across our streets? We must ramp up the war on litter.

Taskbar is what I use, but the OP specifically mentioned putting apps out of view. Unless you auto-hide the taskbar, things pinned to the taskbar are still visible. The Metro start screen remains the comparable method to adding something to the Start menu.

And calling people idiots because their UI choices aren't yours? What are you, 12?

So either place them on the desktop (ugly and annoying, I know) or pin them to the taskbar (quick and efficient). There are plenty of options for ways to access your frequently-used programs. I mentioned the metro start page as the closest analogy to the start menu.

I spend 95% of my Win8 time on the desktop, which does have the taskbar. As in Windows 7, my most frequently used apps are pinned to the taskbar for quick access via shortcuts rather than mouse or start menu. Works like a charm. I didn't mention the taskbar in my original comment because OP said he wanted to place these links somewhere that could be hidden. You can hide the taskbar, but the closest comparison to the start menu is the metro start screen, so I mentioned that rather than the taskbar.

"Personally I keep a list of the top 10 applications I launch (Chrome, Visual Studio, a screen capture utility, etc) right at the very top level of the "Start" menu so I can get to them quickly"

So put them on the metro page. Functions in a similar way: press the windows key and you'll see all your pinned apps for quick and easy access as well as be able to just type the name of any given app you may want.

Prior to the release of Win8, I was highly, highly critical. Thought it was the dumbest thing MS had ever done. As someone who went through the pain of WinME, that's saying a lot. But I've gotten used to it. Still spend almost all my time in the desktop, but I've grown to like the metro apps for things like easy access for my kids. I still think MS made a mistake by not at least making a full-desktop-mode option, but I can live with Metro and find it beneficial in some ways. I certainly haven'y been hampered by it at all.