I agree; e.g. word processors, photo editing, etc. can have vast numbers of options and at some frequency of use having a bunch of little icons on the screen is

I agree; e.g. word processors, photo editing, etc. can have vast numbers of options and at some frequency of use having a bunch of little icons on the screen is a reasonable choice vs. alternative. Having the traditional "text, icons, or text and icons" option seems like a good deal there defaulting to something with text. I also set up my browser such that half of the tab bar is favicon-only bookmarks; I can very easily get to the few sites that I look at most days or want a reminder to look at. I also use favicons to identify tabs. I remove most of the standard browser icons in the interface and just leave the few I use regularly, so I can remember what they all do. So maybe it is best to think of icons as visual interface optimization that is best performed by the user. Especially for web sites or default application modes I agree with the author that there should be text involved most of the time.