Dave, there is an article on the Internet that you must read. Here is the link: http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
Thank you for the article. However, I think you have missed my point. I am not looking for Linux to be like Windows. Nor am I advocating any approach that Windows does, or in favour of making any changes to make Linux in any way like Windows.
All I am saying is that I am an ex-Windows user who is trying to find points of references so that I can understand how Linux works. Actually, a long time ago I used to work regularly on an Irix system, and Mac comes in and out of my life depending on my job. But as I've been a regular user of Windows since, well, since there was Windows, I can't help the fact that is has significantly shaped my perception of how computers work in general.
All I know is that I want to start an application. In Windows I know how to do that. In Linux I don't. By asking in terms of how Windows does things is not a plea to change Linux to be like Windows, it's a query to find out how they differ so I can understand and operate Linux.
Please don't tar me with the brush of in any way saying that one OS should be like another, or even that one is better than another. I'm not really interested in OS comparisons or competitions. I'm on Linux for my own reasons, and I just want to understand it. In this context Windows is just a point of reference, a tool for translation of ideas. Nothing more.
Dave