[acid_bath]

Eh, I think it's a solution in search of a problem.

Other than looking cool, if you timed yourself, I bet it's much faster to just type it.

(on my mac):

Cmd + L

type "gm" (gmail.com is now highlighted in the dropdown because it's one of the 4 most frequent websites I visit and FF is smart enough to know I probably want it)

Enter

Total time: Less than it takes for fav4.org to load.

[listic]

Yep. Plus I hate being always told what to do; I fear it helps to kill my creativity. That's why I always set start page to blank and turn off Opera's speed dial forever (after admiring it for a while).

That said, a solution is nice.

UPDATE: Hm, now I think I could set my homepage to this, but leave start page as blank. This way I won't be distracted the moment I start the browser, yet be able to reach this launchpad with a press of "Home" button whenever I want to.

[mortenjorck]

Ah, someone else gets this!

Ever since I started using Safari's "Top Sites" (procedurally generated Opera Speed Dial), I've noticed a developing feedback loop in which I visit the listed sites significantly more often than the non-listed ones. It's subtle, but it's enough for me to reconsider my use of the feature.

[aaronbrethorst]

Or, in Safari, you can invoke your bookmark bar favorites by pressing Cmd+[1-9], where 1-9 matches its position.

I have Gmail as the left-most item in my bar and access it by pressing Cmd+1.

[mhartl]

Cmd-L gm down-arrow is my algorithm to get to Gmail, too, and so on for other common sites I visit. I thought I was the only one.