This guy has thrown together an entirely new UI tool [1] in the last week. Very neat stuff. Notice that applications that aren't running are "grey" and those that are are "color". If he clicks on an app that isn't running, it launches; if he clicks on one that is, it raises it's window. Notice that it also integrates with the gnome-vfs, Evolution and Gaim.
[1] http://www.beatniksoftware.com/blog/index.php?p=38