There are several ways to change the 2 soft keys at the bottom of the screen. You can have them open whatever you want. One easy way to change them is with Diamond Tweak found here
http://montecristoff.webs.com/diamondtweak.htm. Great program that you can do all kinds of customizations with.
The start menu is what ever you choose also. Just click on Start-Settings-Menus, and you pick what the start menu shows.
You can also choose to have a small or large start menu. Click on Start-Settings-(Sytem Tab)-TouchFLO, and check or uncheck the box for large start menu. With the large start menu, it will list the 7 programs of your choosing, then across the top of the start menu it will last the 5 programs you previously opened that are not part of the 7 below. For my 2 softkeys I have Contacts and E-Mail, since that's where I go the most. It's a perfect setup for me. Love it.