Ken Springer wrote:

Do you have a choice of large or small icons? This would affect how
many programs can be on the taskbar.


No.. The icon window for each icon automatically reduces in size until
the maximum real estate of the Task Bar is filled with icons. Thereafter
when adding more items to the TaskBar a 'special' icon appears with an
up/down arrow that provides a page up/down, scroll feature. That icon
can also be rt. clicked to reveal its options (Scroll Here, Top, Bottom,
Page Up, Page Down, Scroll Up, Scroll Down).

Some folks prefer to re-enable the Quick Launch Toolbar for most used
application programs and use that in conjunction with specific icons (on
the TaskBar) and their related jump-list/recent features.
- With proper planning one can easily use both of the above without
the need for the archaic Windows traditional 'Start Menu. The old Start
Menu is certainly functional but very few people have ever used or
needed everything that was ever placed on it (i.e. they like it because
it was always there but rarely ever clicked on everything present)

Win8's Start Screen is more flexible than the old style Start Menu since
one can create groups, rearrange tiles, resize tiles, turn tiles on/off
(e.g. one can have a News or Weather tile that updates with current
content). Many folks interpret the live tiles as advertising - it is not.



--
....winston
msft mvp consumer apps