I'd like to propose a new tab for Kickoff: Home.
This tab would include miniature versions of the most useful entries from other pre-existing Kickoff tabs. The idea is for it to be the only tab a casual user should ever have to use to quickly launch their recently-used and favorite apps, access the files they were last working with, and turn off their computer. Full power and more features would always be available on Kickoff's other tabs.
Here's an exceptionally crude low-fi mockup, followed by a textual explanation:
- The Favorites section on top is just like a miniature version of Kicker's current Favorites tab--with the additional feature that you can make Documents favorites too. I think users would really love that.
- The Recent Documents and Recent Apps sections are likewise mini versions of what's available on Kickoff's existing History tab. Recently-installed apps are indicated as such, per T7913: Make it really obvious where newly-installed apps can be found. Each list has a Forget all button, given our focus on privacy.
- The Power section displays the three power-related actions (with textual labels) at the bottom of the page. The More button on the right shows any additional options (Log out, switch user, etc). The settings page would provide a UI to allow users to choose which three buttons appear on the Home page (for example they might want to replace Suspend with Log Out or Switch User in the case of a laptop that's shared between family members).