The worst thing that MS ever did was set a default to "hide extensions for known file types". That turned a whole generation mostly-unaware of what is a file extension and what type of files could potentially be fatal. They were taught to double-click if they recognize the icon. Great.

right click an empty quick launch area(unlock the taskbar if necessary) and choose view -> large icons. now drag the label area marked with :::: of the tasks underneath the quick launch. you'll have a long row with large icons for applications and underneath a long row for many tasks. far more usable and without any software installs.