And more - I find that I can edit the pixel values in the preferences file, to make icons line up perfectly in the case that they were not originally put on the grid. And, I can keep different copies of the prefs file with different layouts. Wonderful!
I presume DIM also works in Lion as it uses Applescript? I read that "wandering icons" are an even worse problem in Lion.

i've heard the same. i'll tell my mac with her 150 Desktop icons to slow down...

seriously, though, here's a claim that says this is rubbish: http://www.compunoodle.com/mac-maintenance-guide-speed-up-your-slow-mac/

i agree each Desktop icon take some memory, but i have yet to see solid evidence that it actually slows down the mac. unless you are running low on memory (RAM).

if your mac is slow, make sure you don't have useless login startup items, have some free hard drive space and then get some more memory. the latter does wonders for the price.

Icons on the desktop slow down the Finder, which is the application responsible for drawing and managing them. They may or may not affect performance in other applications, depending on a number of variables. I recently cut back on the number of icons on my desktop and noticed a significant improvement in how quickly Finder windows display their contents. If you use Finder windows a lot, as I do, this improvement is worth the effort of cleaning up my desktop.

That said, I've used Desktop Icon Manager and find it a useful tool.

@parker9 He is wrong on that. He is essentially a PC expert. However,even on a PC desktop items slow a PC down. You see the desktop folder is actually a folder or as PC users say a Directory. Putting icons on the Desktop folder will slow the Finder down. If the Finder is slowed down the whole shebang is slowed down.The Finder is running all the time and the Desktop is the Finder. I can't be more clearer than that.

@ Jazzyguy: poor grammar aside ("more clearer"), you are apparently no kind of expert, on PC or Mac. OS X handles applications much more efficiently than OS 9 and earlier. In OS X, applications, including the Finder, are given their own memory allocations that do not, as in OS 9, step on one another. OS X uses the CPU(s) more efficiently as well. So a slow Finder may not affect other applications, unless you are running out of resources like RAM and/or CPU headroom. If this happens often, then reducing the Finder's demands on the system can improve overall performance. But it is not always the case, as you seem to think. Anyway, it's easy enough to check to see what the Finder is doing in Activity Monitor.

Back on topic, for those who find using files in the Finder suits their workflow preferences, DIM can be a useful tool to keep those icons organized as you like them.

@B.Jefferson LeBlanc Aside from your utter rudeness perhaps you will allow me to quote from OSXHints whom I DO consider an EXPERT to wit"A simple but effective Mac speed-up tip
Nov 23, '05 06:46:00AM • Contributed by: RandyMan
Here's a tip I was made aware of recently that I thought I'd share (though I'd like to take credit, I must give that to some Smart Friends of mine); it'll help speed up your Mac, and may reduce the appearance of the SPOD (the rainbow cursor). It's not a hack, and there are no modifications necessary to any of your software; there's nothing to download, and there's a fringe benefit (subjectively speaking, of course) of cleaning up your Desktop.

The tip: Reduce the number of icons on your Desktop!

That's it. Really. No, really, try it and see. If you only reduce it by a few, you probably won't notice much of a difference, but the more you remove, the snappier it will feel (dependent on your machine, of course).

Why? Well, every icon on your Desktop is a little window, and as such, has a corresponding backing store allocation in the window server. Lots of these little windows apparently can put a strain on the window server, especially when you've got lots of other (normal) windows open as well.

Don't believe me? Well, you can see for yourself, by running Quartz Debug found in /Developer -> Applications -> Performance Tools (assuming you have the Developer Tools installed -- you do have the Developer Tools installed, don't you?). Show the window list (Tools -> Show Window List), order by Application, and click on the various Finder entries to highlight each "window." You'll soon see that each desktop icon is treated as its very own window. See, I told you so.

No no, no applause necessary, cash donations will suffice...

[robg adds: I thought we had something similar in the archives, but I couldn't find it. Using Quartz Debug was somewhat enlightening for me; I don't have a ton of icons on my Desktop (about 10 or so), but each one clearly uses up a chunk of memory. I didn't notice any speed bump from reducing the number, given the small number I had to begin with. However, I suspect that if your desktop looks like the landing zone for 400 daily flights of icons and folders, then you would see a nice speed bump -- if you fall into this category, and try working with a clean desktop for a bit, please post your experiences." I hope this satisfies your miniscule mind. You don't need an expert to make a divination that if you fill your desktop with icons you will make your Mac work harder

And BTW why put a strain on your Mac anyway? Just for the sake of having icons on your dektop when the could easily be placed inside a folder inside Findericon or Xmenu or even in your documents folder or if you will Directory lol

That should be Finderpop not Findericon. Sorry for the typo

you're welcome