diff --git a/wp-admin/menu-header.php b/wp-admin/menu-header.php
index bbdfe1a70..d8b7e6af3 100644
--- a/wp-admin/menu-header.php
+++ b/wp-admin/menu-header.php
@@ -1,11 +1,45 @@
-<ul id="adminmenu">
 <?php
 $self = preg_replace('|^.*/wp-admin/|i', '', $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']);
 $self = preg_replace('|^.*/plugins/|i', '', $self);
 
 get_admin_page_parent();
 
-foreach ($menu as $item) {
+// We're going to do this loop three times
+?>
+
+<ul id="dashmenu">
+<?php
+foreach ( $menu as $key => $item ) {
+	if ( 3 < $key ) // get each menu item before 3
+		continue;
+	$class = '';
+	// 0 = name, 1 = capability, 2 = file
+	if (( strcmp($self, $item[2]) == 0 && empty($parent_file)) || ($parent_file && ($item[2] == $parent_file))) $class = ' class="current"';
+
+	if ( !empty($submenu[$item[2]]) ) {
+		$submenu[$item[2]] = array_values($submenu[$item[2]]);  // Re-index.
+		$menu_hook = get_plugin_page_hook($submenu[$item[2]][0][2], $item[2]);
+		if ( file_exists(ABSPATH . PLUGINDIR . "/{$submenu[$item[2]][0][2]}") || !empty($menu_hook))
+			echo "\n\t<li><a href='admin.php?page={$submenu[$item[2]][0][2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a></li>";
+		else
+			echo "\n\t<li><a href='{$submenu[$item[2]][0][2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a></li>";
+	} else if ( current_user_can($item[1]) ) {
+		if ( file_exists(ABSPATH . PLUGINDIR . "/{$item[2]}") )
+			echo "\n\t<li><a href='admin.php?page={$item[2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a></li>";
+		else
+			echo "\n\t<li><a href='{$item[2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a></li>";
+	}
+}
+do_action( 'dashmenu' );
+?>
+</ul>
+
+<ul id="adminmenu">
+<?php
+foreach ( $menu as $key => $item ) {
+	if ( 5 > $key || $key > 25 ) // get each menu item before 3
+		continue;
+
 	$class = '';
 
 	// 0 = name, 1 = capability, 2 = file
@@ -25,10 +59,40 @@ foreach ($menu as $item) {
 			echo "\n\t<li><a href='{$item[2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a></li>";
 	}
 }
-
+do_action( 'adminmenu' );
 ?>
 </ul>
 
+<ul id="sidemenu">
+<?php
+foreach ( $menu as $key => $item ) {
+	if ( 26 > $key ) // get each menu item before 3
+		continue;
+
+	$class = '';
+
+	// 0 = name, 1 = capability, 2 = file
+	if (( strcmp($self, $item[2]) == 0 && empty($parent_file)) || ($parent_file && ($item[2] == $parent_file))) $class = ' class="current"';
+
+	if ( !empty($submenu[$item[2]]) ) {
+		$submenu[$item[2]] = array_values($submenu[$item[2]]);  // Re-index.
+		$menu_hook = get_plugin_page_hook($submenu[$item[2]][0][2], $item[2]);
+		if ( file_exists(ABSPATH . PLUGINDIR . "/{$submenu[$item[2]][0][2]}") || !empty($menu_hook))
+			echo "\n\t<li><a href='admin.php?page={$submenu[$item[2]][0][2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a> |</li>";
+		else
+			echo "\n\t<li><a href='{$submenu[$item[2]][0][2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a> |</li>";
+	} else if ( current_user_can($item[1]) ) {
+		if ( file_exists(ABSPATH . PLUGINDIR . "/{$item[2]}") )
+			echo "\n\t<li><a href='admin.php?page={$item[2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a> |</li>";
+		else
+			echo "\n\t<li><a href='{$item[2]}'$class>{$item[0]}</a> |</li>";
+	}
+}
+do_action( 'sidemenu' );
+?>
+</ul>
+
+
 <?php
 // Sub-menu
 if ( isset($submenu["$parent_file"]) ) :
diff --git a/wp-admin/menu.php b/wp-admin/menu.php
index 6002c1c6c..7b3502978 100644
--- a/wp-admin/menu.php
+++ b/wp-admin/menu.php
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ $awaiting_mod = $wpdb->get_var("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM $wpdb->comments WHERE comme
 if ( 100 < $awaiting_mod )
 	$awaiting_mod = '99+'; // to not blow out layout
 $menu[15] = array( sprintf( __('Comments %s'), "<span id='awaiting-mod' class='comment-count'>$awaiting_mod</span>" ), 'edit_posts', 'edit-comments.php');
-$menu[20] = array(__('Blogroll'), 'manage_links', 'link-manager.php');
 $menu[25] = array(__('Design'), 'switch_themes', 'themes.php');
 $menu[30] = array(__('Plugins'), 'activate_plugins', 'plugins.php');
 if ( current_user_can('edit_users') )
@@ -30,8 +29,8 @@ $menu[40] = array(__('Settings'), 'manage_options', 'options-general.php');
 
 
 $_wp_real_parent_file['post.php'] = 'post-new.php'; // Back-compat
-$submenu['post-new.php'][5] = array(__('Write Post'), 'edit_posts', 'post-new.php');
-$submenu['post-new.php'][10] = array(__('Write Page'), 'edit_pages', 'page-new.php');
+$submenu['post-new.php'][5] = array(__('Post'), 'edit_posts', 'post-new.php');
+$submenu['post-new.php'][10] = array(__('Page'), 'edit_pages', 'page-new.php');
 
 $submenu['edit-comments.php'][5] = array(__('Comments'), 'edit_posts', 'edit-comments.php');
 $awaiting_mod = $wpdb->get_var("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM $wpdb->comments WHERE comment_approved = '0'");
@@ -40,16 +39,16 @@ $submenu['edit-comments.php'][25] = array(sprintf(__("Awaiting Moderation (%s)")
 
 $submenu['edit.php'][5] = array(__('Posts'), 'edit_posts', 'edit.php');
 $submenu['edit.php'][10] = array(__('Pages'), 'edit_pages', 'edit-pages.php');
-$submenu['edit.php'][12] = array(__('Uploads'), 'upload_files', 'upload.php');
-$submenu['edit.php'][15] = array(__('Categories'), 'manage_categories', 'categories.php');
-$submenu['edit.php'][30] = array(__('Files'), 'edit_files', 'templates.php');
-$submenu['edit.php'][35] = array(__('Import'), 'import', 'import.php');
-$submenu['edit.php'][40] = array(__('Export'), 'import', 'export.php');
+$submenu['edit.php'][15] = array(__('Links'), 'manage_links', 'link-manager.php');
+$submenu['edit.php'][20] = array(__('Categories'), 'manage_categories', 'categories.php');
+$submenu['edit.php'][25] = array(__('Media Library'), 'upload_files', 'upload.php');
+$submenu['edit.php'][30] = array(__('Import'), 'import', 'import.php');
+$submenu['edit.php'][35] = array(__('Export'), 'import', 'export.php');
 
-$submenu['link-manager.php'][5] = array(__('Manage Blogroll'), 'manage_links', 'link-manager.php');
-$submenu['link-manager.php'][10] = array(__('Add Link'), 'manage_links', 'link-add.php');
-$submenu['link-manager.php'][20] = array(__('Import Links'), 'manage_links', 'link-import.php');
-$submenu['link-manager.php'][30] = array(__('Categories'), 'manage_links', 'edit-link-categories.php');
+
+$submenu['edit.php'][50] = array(__('Add Link'), 'manage_links', 'link-add.php'); // todo: axe
+$submenu['edit.php'][55] = array(__('Import Links'), 'manage_links', 'link-import.php'); // todo: axe
+$submenu['edit.php'][60] = array(__('Categories'), 'manage_links', 'edit-link-categories.php'); // todo: axe
 
 if ( current_user_can('edit_users') ) {
 	$_wp_real_parent_file['profile.php'] = 'users.php'; // Back-compat for plugins adding submenus to profile.php.
diff --git a/wp-admin/templates.php b/wp-admin/templates.php
deleted file mode 100644
index a061072ee..000000000
--- a/wp-admin/templates.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,160 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-require_once('admin.php');
-$title = __('Template &amp; File Editing');
-$parent_file = 	'edit.php';
-
-wp_reset_vars(array('action', 'redirect', 'profile', 'error', 'warning', 'a', 'file'));
-
-$recents = get_option('recently_edited');
-
-if (empty($file)) {
-	if ($recents) {
-		$file = $recents[0];
-	} else {
-		$file = 'index.php';
-	}
-}
-
-$file = validate_file_to_edit($file);
-$real_file = get_real_file_to_edit($file);
-
-switch($action) {
-
-case 'update':
-
-	check_admin_referer('edit-file_' . $file);
-
-	if ( ! current_user_can('edit_files') )
-		wp_die('<p>'.__('You do not have sufficient permissions to edit templates for this blog.').'</p>');
-
-	$newcontent = stripslashes($_POST['newcontent']);
-	if (is_writeable($real_file)) {
-		$f = @ fopen($real_file, 'w+');
-		if ( $f ) {
-			fwrite($f, $newcontent);
-			fclose($f);
-			wp_redirect("templates.php?file=$file&a=te");
-		} else {
-			wp_redirect("templates.php?file=$file&a=err");
-		}
-	} else {
-		wp_redirect("templates.php?file=$file&a=err");
-	}
-
-	exit();
-
-break;
-
-default:
-
-	require_once('./admin-header.php');
-
-	if ( ! current_user_can('edit_files') )
-		wp_die('<p>'.__('You do not have sufficient permissions to edit templates for this blog.').'</p>');
-
-	if (strpos($file, 'wp-config.php') !== false)
-	wp_die('<p>'.__('The config file cannot be edited or viewed through the web interface. Sorry!').'</p>');
-
-	update_recently_edited($file);
-
-	if (!is_file($real_file))
-		$error = true;
-
-	if (!$error) {
-		$f = @ fopen($real_file, 'r');
-		if ( $f ) {
-			if ( filesize($real_file ) > 0 ) {
-				$content = fread($f, filesize($real_file));
-				$content = htmlspecialchars($content);
-			} else {
-				$content = '';
-			}
-		} else {
-			$error = true;
-		}
-	}
-
-	?>
-<?php if (isset($_GET['a'])) : ?>
-	<?php if ( 'err' == $_GET['a'] ) : ?>
- <div id="message" class="error"><p><?php _e('Could not save file.') ?></p></div>
-	<?php else: ?>
- <div id="message" class="updated fade"><p><?php _e('File edited successfully.') ?></p></div>
-	<?php endif; ?>
-<?php endif; ?>
- <div class="wrap">
-<?php
-if (is_writeable($real_file)) {
-	echo '<h2>' . sprintf(__('Editing <strong>%s</strong>'), wp_specialchars($file) ) . '</h2>';
-} else {
-	echo '<h2>' . sprintf(__('Browsing <strong>%s</strong>'), wp_specialchars($file) ) . '</h2>';
-}
-?>
-<div id="templateside">
-<?php
-if ( $recents ) :
-?>
-<h3><?php _e('Recent'); ?></h3>
-<?php
-echo '<ol>';
-foreach ($recents as $recent) :
-	echo "<li><a href='templates.php?file=" . attribute_escape($recent) . "'>" . wp_specialchars(get_file_description(basename($recent))) . "</a></li>";
-endforeach;
-echo '</ol>';
-endif;
-?>
-<h3><?php _e('Common'); ?></h3>
-	<?php $common_files = array('index.php', '.htaccess', 'my-hacks.php');
- $old_files = array('wp-layout.css', 'wp-comments.php', 'wp-comments-popup.php');
- foreach ($old_files as $old_file) {
-	 if (file_exists(ABSPATH . $old_file))
-		 $common_files[] = $old_file;
- } ?>
-<ul>
-	<?php foreach ($common_files as $common_file) : ?>
-		<li><a href="templates.php?file=<?php echo $common_file?>"><?php echo get_file_description($common_file); ?></a></li>
-	<?php endforeach; ?>
-</ul>
-</div>
-<?php if (!$error) { ?>
-	<form name="template" id="template" action="templates.php" method="post">
-	<?php wp_nonce_field('edit-file_' . $file) ?>
-		<div><textarea cols="70" rows="25" name="newcontent" id='newcontent' tabindex="1"><?php echo $content ?></textarea>
-		<input type="hidden" name="action" value="update" />
-		<input type="hidden" name="file" value="<?php echo $file ?>" />
-		</div>
-<?php if ( is_writeable($real_file) ) : ?>
-	<p class="submit">
-<?php
-	echo "<input type='submit' name='submit' value='	" . __('Update File &raquo;') . "' tabindex='2' />";
-?>
-</p>
-<?php else : ?>
-<p><em><?php _e('If this file were writable you could edit it.'); ?></em></p>
-<?php endif; ?>
-	</form>
-	<?php
-	} else {
-		echo '<div class="error"><p>' . __('Oops, no such file exists! Double check the name and try again, merci.') . '</p></div>';
-	}
-	?>
-<div class="clear"> &nbsp; </div>
-</div>
-<div class="wrap">
-<h2><?php _e('Other Files') ?></h2>
-
-	<p><?php _e('To edit a file, type its name here. You can edit any file <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Changing_File_Permissions" title="Read more about making files writable">writable by the server</a>, e.g. CHMOD 666.') ?></p>
-	<form name="file" action="templates.php" method="get">
-		<input type="text" name="file" />
-		<input type="submit" name="submit"  value="<?php _e('Edit file &raquo;') ?>" />
-	</form>
-
-	<p><?php _e('Note: of course, you can also edit the files/templates in your text editor of choice and upload them. This online editor is only meant to be used when you don&#8217;t have access to a text editor or FTP client.') ?></p>
-</div>
-<?php
-
-break;
-}
-
-include("admin-footer.php");
-?>
diff --git a/wp-admin/wp-admin.css b/wp-admin/wp-admin.css
index 875c498dc..e5ce80b10 100644
--- a/wp-admin/wp-admin.css
+++ b/wp-admin/wp-admin.css
@@ -899,6 +899,31 @@ a.view-comment-post-link {
 	margin: 0;
 }
 
+/* menu stuff */
+
+#dashmenu {
+	margin: 0;
+	list-style: none;
+	position: absolute;
+	top: 7px;
+	left: 0;
+	padding-left: 12px;
+}
+
+#dashmenu a {
+	color: #999;
+	padding: 6px;
+	line-height: 220%;
+	margin-right: 8px;
+}
+
+#dashmenu a:hover, #dashmenu a.current, #dashmenu a.current:hover {
+	background: #e4f2fd;
+	-moz-border-radius-topleft: 3px;
+	-moz-border-radius-topright: 3px;		
+	color: #555;
+}
+
 #adminmenu {
 	margin: 0;
 	list-style: none;
@@ -910,7 +935,7 @@ a.view-comment-post-link {
 #adminmenu a {
 	font-size: 16px;
 	color: #2583ad;
-	padding: 6px 6px;
+	padding: 6px;
 	line-height: 200%;
 	border: 1px solid #e4f2fd;
 	border-bottom: 1px solid #c6d9e9;
@@ -931,12 +956,34 @@ a.view-comment-post-link {
 	font-weight: normal;
 }
 
-#adminmenu li, #submenu li {
+#sidemenu {
+	margin: 0;
+	color: #999;
+	list-style: none;
+	position: absolute;
+	right: 25%;
+	top: 55px;
+	padding-left: 10px;
+}
+
+#sidemenu a {
+	color: #2583ad;
+	padding: 3px;
+	line-height: 200%;
+}
+
+#sidemenu a:hover, #sidemenu a.current, #sidemenu a.current:hover {
+	color: #d54e21;
+}
+
+#dashmenu li, #adminmenu li, #submenu li, #sidemenu li {
 	display: inline;
 	line-height: 200%;
 	list-style: none;
 	text-align: center;
 	white-space: nowrap;
+	margin: 0;
+	padding: 0;
 }
 
 #adminmenu #awaiting-mod {
@@ -971,6 +1018,8 @@ a.view-comment-post-link {
 	height: 15px;
 }
 
+/* end menu stuff */
+
 /* Admin Footer */
 
 #footer {