If you want to play "Angry Birds, " instead of flicking through screens to look for the icon, you can just start typing "Ang" and the game icon pops up.

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He said it was an attempt to do away with app-centred systems that were a legacy of the computer world in which people clicked on an icon to start a program.

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That's why Windows 8 opens in the start screen, why Microsoft is working to build up a large catalog of tablet-type apps that run only in the start screen, and why the traditional desktop has been relegated to a mode you reach by clicking on an icon on the start screen.

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To get quickly to the Start Screen, Pokki has an icon at the lower left.

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Users can still switch to a more traditional desktop mode by clicking on an icon, but the environment lacks the start menu button offered since Windows 95.

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You can start the navigation process by tapping on a colored icon showing travel time, either in the initial small bar at the bottom of the map, or on the info sheet.

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You can start a search from anywhere in the app, thanks to a search icon that's always at the top of the screen, which is new to the iPhone app.

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Once you have clicked on a Play icon on a picture - or on the Player controls - then you can start, pause or restart the video by using the control buttons immediately below the video screen.

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