Yes, you can.
You can create a new toolbar in Windows 2000
or XP to hold a lot of small icons.
Right click on a blank spot on the taskbar and
choose Toolbars=>New Toolbars and name and create
a new folder for it. Then drag the toolbar off
of the taskbar while viewing your desktop and you can
resize it into a rectangle of suitable size and shape
then drag your icons to it and right click on the
toolbar to turn off 'show text' to display just the
icons.
You can install the Office Shortcut bar through
a custom installation choice in Office 2000 or Office XP
but the new Office 2003 icons may not look right.
There are 3rd party toolbars some folks have been
trying out including
http://www.jetaudio.com/download/jettoolbar.html
830180 - Frequently Asked Questions About the Office Shortcut Bar and Office
2003:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;830180
