XFCE, LXDE, or JWM fit what you describe.  Gnome is somewhat close for now, but it has been getting away from the simple desktop approach for a while, and the latest (3.0) is very Mac-like and far less customizable than KDE.
You might also look at WindowMaker (ultra clean/light, but no taskbar) or the Enlightenment Desktop (very nice graphics, but still cleaner than KDE and more customizable than Gnome)
 
mz wrote:
> I'm looking for a replacement desktop. Currently I'm using KDE v4.4.4. It has 
> way too many bells and whistles for my needs, and there doesn't seem to be a 
> way to turn them off.
> 
> I keep an extremely clean desktop with almost nothing on it. There are a few 
> links to frequently accessed files or directories, but that's about it. At 
> times I will temporarily store files on the desktop before deciding whether or 
> where to store them. I do almost everything through the application launcher 
> menu and the file manager.
> 
> My perfect desktop would be similar to the old Windows XP with a simple task 
> bar and system tray. There would be simple icons, no widgets and no plasma 
> workspaces. The file manager would be similar to the old Program Manager in 
> Windows 3.1 with only a tree directory and files always displayed with a 
> detailed view and absolutely no folder views.
> 
> Is there such a thing any more? If not, what's the closest to it?
> 
> TIA,
> Mark Z.
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