diff --git a/js/ui/appDisplay.js b/js/ui/appDisplay.js
index 266e8bce3..5901ded0a 100644
--- a/js/ui/appDisplay.js
+++ b/js/ui/appDisplay.js
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@ const Main = imports.ui.main;
 const ENTERED_MENU_COLOR = new Clutter.Color();
 ENTERED_MENU_COLOR.from_pixel(0x00ff0022);
 
-const APP_ICON_SIZE = 48;
-const APP_ITEM_SIZE = 64;
 const MENU_ICON_SIZE = 24;
 const MENU_SPACING = 15;
 
@@ -58,33 +56,28 @@ function AppDisplayItem(appInfo, availableWidth) {
 }
 
 AppDisplayItem.prototype = {
-    _init : function(appInfo) {
+    __proto__:  GenericDisplay.GenericDisplayItem.prototype,
+
+    _init : function(appInfo, availableWidth) {
+        GenericDisplay.GenericDisplayItem.prototype._init.call(this, availableWidth);
         this._appInfo = appInfo;
 
-        this.actor = new Big.Box({ orientation: Big.BoxOrientation.VERTICAL,
-                                   spacing: 6 });
-
         let name = appInfo.get_name();
 
+        let description = appInfo.get_description();
+
         let iconTheme = Gtk.IconTheme.get_default();
 
         let gicon = appInfo.get_icon();
         let texCache = Shell.TextureCache.get_default();
         let icon;
         if (gicon == null)
-            icon = new Clutter.Texture({ width: APP_ICON_SIZE,
-                                         height: APP_ICON_SIZE
+            icon = new Clutter.Texture({ width: GenericDisplay.ITEM_DISPLAY_ICON_SIZE,
+                                         height: GenericDisplay.ITEM_DISPLAY_ICON_SIZE
                                        });
         else
-            icon = texCache.load_gicon(gicon, APP_ICON_SIZE);
-
-        this.actor.add_actor(icon);
-        let title = new Clutter.Text({ color: GenericDisplay.ITEM_DISPLAY_NAME_COLOR,
-                                       font_name: "Sans bold 14px",
-                                       ellipsize: Pango.EllipsizeMode.END,
-                                       text: name
-                                     });
-        this.actor.add_actor(title);
+            icon = texCache.load_gicon(gicon, GenericDisplay.ITEM_DISPLAY_ICON_SIZE);
+        this._setItemInfo(name, description, icon);
     },
 
     //// Public methods ////
@@ -99,6 +92,33 @@ AppDisplayItem.prototype = {
     // Opens an application represented by this display item.
     launch : function() {
         this._appInfo.launch([], Main.createAppLaunchContext());
+    },
+
+    //// Protected method overrides ////
+
+    // Ensures the preview icon is created.
+    _ensurePreviewIconCreated : function() {
+        if (!this._showPreview || this._previewIcon)
+            return;
+
+        let previewIconPath = null;
+
+        if (this._gicon != null) {
+            let iconTheme = Gtk.IconTheme.get_default();
+            let previewIconInfo = iconTheme.lookup_by_gicon(this._gicon, GenericDisplay.PREVIEW_ICON_SIZE, Gtk.IconLookupFlags.NO_SVG);
+            if (previewIconInfo)
+                previewIconPath = previewIconInfo.get_filename();
+        }
+
+        if (previewIconPath) {
+            try {
+                this._previewIcon = new Clutter.Texture({ width: GenericDisplay.PREVIEW_ICON_SIZE, height: GenericDisplay.PREVIEW_ICON_SIZE});
+                this._previewIcon.set_from_file(previewIconPath);
+            } catch (e) {
+                // we can get an error here if the file path doesn't exist on the system
+                log('Error loading AppDisplayItem preview icon ' + e);
+            }
+        }
     }
 };
 
@@ -182,7 +202,9 @@ MenuItem.prototype = {
 }
 Signals.addSignalMethods(MenuItem.prototype);
 
-/* Displays favorite and running applications.
+/* This class represents a display containing a collection of application items.
+ * The applications are sorted based on their popularity by default, and based on
+ * their name if some search filter is applied.
  *
  * width - width available for the display
  * height - height available for the display
@@ -192,32 +214,135 @@ function AppDisplay(width, height, numberOfColumns, columnGap) {
 }
 
 AppDisplay.prototype = {
-    _init : function(width, height) {
-        this._favorites = []
-        this._menuDisplays = [];
+    __proto__:  GenericDisplay.GenericDisplay.prototype,
 
-        this.actor = new Tidy.Grid({ width: width, height: height });
+    _init : function(width, height, numberOfColumns, columnGap) {
+        GenericDisplay.GenericDisplay.prototype._init.call(this, width, height, numberOfColumns, columnGap);
+
+        this._menus = [];
+        this._menuDisplays = [];
 
         // map<itemId, array of category names>
         this._appCategories = {};
 
-        this._appMonitor = Shell.AppMonitor.get_default();
-        this._appSystem = Shell.AppSystem.get_default();
+        this._appMonitor = new Shell.AppMonitor();
+        this._appSystem = new Shell.AppSystem();
         this._appsStale = true;
         this._appSystem.connect('changed', Lang.bind(this, function(appSys) {
-            // This is a change in the set of known applications
             this._appsStale = true;
+            // We still need to determine what events other than search can trigger
+            // a change in the set of applications that are being shown while the
+            // user in in the overlay mode, however let's redisplay just in case.
             this._redisplay(false);
+            this._redisplayMenus();
         }));
         this._appMonitor.connect('changed', Lang.bind(this, function(monitor) {
-            // A change in running applications
             this._redisplay(false);
         }));
 
         // Load the GAppInfos now so it doesn't slow down the first
         // transition into the overlay
         this._refreshCache();
-        this._redisplay(true);
+
+        this._focusInMenus = true;
+        this._activeMenuIndex = -1;
+        this._activeMenu = null;
+        this._activeMenuApps = null;
+        this._menuDisplay = new Big.Box({ orientation: Big.BoxOrientation.VERTICAL,
+                                          spacing: MENU_SPACING
+                                       });
+        this._redisplayMenus();
+
+        this.connect('expanded', Lang.bind(this, function (self) {
+            this._filterReset();
+        }));
+    },
+
+    moveRight: function() {
+        if (this._expanded && this._focusInMenu) {
+            this._focusInMenu = false;
+            this._activeMenu.setState(MENU_ENTERED);
+            this.selectFirstItem();
+        }
+    },
+
+    moveLeft: function() {
+        if (this._expanded && !this._focusInMenu) {
+            this._activeMenu.setState(MENU_SELECTED);
+            this.unsetSelected();
+            this._focusInMenu = true;
+        }
+    },
+
+    // Override genericDisplay.js
+    getSideArea: function() {
+        return this._menuDisplay;
+    },
+
+    selectUp: function() {
+        if (!(this._expanded && this._focusInMenu))
+            return GenericDisplay.GenericDisplay.prototype.selectUp.call(this);
+        this._selectMenuIndex(this._activeMenuIndex - 1);
+        return true;
+    },
+
+    selectDown: function() {
+        if (!(this._expanded && this._focusInMenu))
+            return GenericDisplay.GenericDisplay.prototype.selectDown.call(this);
+        this._selectMenuIndex(this._activeMenuIndex+1);
+        return true;
+    },
+
+    // Protected overrides
+
+    _filterActive: function() {
+        return !!this._search || this._activeMenuIndex >= 0;
+    },
+
+    _filterReset: function() {
+        GenericDisplay.GenericDisplay.prototype._filterReset.call(this);
+        if (this._activeMenu != null)
+            this._activeMenu.setState(MENU_UNSELECTED);
+        this._activeMenuIndex = -1;
+        this._activeMenu = null;
+        this._focusInMenu = true;
+    },
+
+    //// Private ////
+
+    _emitStateChange: function() {
+        this.emit('state-changed');
+    },
+
+    _selectMenuIndex: function(index) {
+        if (index < 0 || index >= this._menus.length)
+            return;
+        this._menuDisplays[index].setState(MENU_SELECTED);
+    },
+
+    _redisplayMenus: function() {
+        this._menuDisplay.remove_all();
+        for (let i = 0; i < this._menus.length; i++) {
+            let menu = this._menus[i];
+            let display = new MenuItem(menu.name, menu.id, menu.icon);
+            this._menuDisplays.push(display);
+            let menuIndex = i;
+            display.connect('state-changed', Lang.bind(this, function (display) {
+                let activated = display.getState() != MENU_UNSELECTED;
+                if (!activated && display == this._activeMenu) {
+                    this._activeMenuIndex = -1;
+                    this._activeMenu = null;
+                } else if (activated) {
+                    if (display != this._activeMenu && this._activeMenu != null)
+                        this._activeMenu.setState(MENU_UNSELECTED);
+                    this._activeMenuIndex = menuIndex;
+                    this._activeMenu = display;
+                    this._activeMenuApps = this._appSystem.get_applications_for_menu(menu.id);
+                }
+                this._redisplay();
+            }));
+            this._menuDisplay.append(display.actor, 0);
+        }
     },
 
     _addApp: function(appId) {
@@ -232,6 +357,9 @@ AppDisplay.prototype = {
         }
     },
 
+    //// Protected method overrides ////
+
+    // Gets information about all applications by calling Gio.app_info_get_all().
     _refreshCache : function() {
         let me = this;
         if (!this._appsStale)
@@ -264,11 +392,14 @@ AppDisplay.prototype = {
     },
 
     // Sets the list of the displayed items based on the most used apps.
-    _redisplay : function() {
+    _setDefaultList : function() {
         // Ask or more app than we need, since the list of recently used apps
         // might contain an app we don't have a desktop file for
-        var running = this._appMonitor.get_running_app_guesses();
-        for (let i = 0; i < running.length; i++) {
+        var apps = this._appMonitor.get_most_used_apps (0, Math.round(MAX_ITEMS * 1.5));
+        this._matchedItems = [];
+        for (let i = 0; i < apps.length; i++) {
+            if (this._matchedItems.length > MAX_ITEMS)
+                break;
             let appId = apps[i] + ".desktop";
             let appInfo = this._allItems[appId];
             if (appInfo) {
diff --git a/src/shell-app-monitor.c b/src/shell-app-monitor.c
index 4a29fae94..5005540d1 100644
--- a/src/shell-app-monitor.c
+++ b/src/shell-app-monitor.c
@@ -14,10 +14,8 @@
 
 #include "shell-app-monitor.h"
 #include "shell-global.h"
-#include "shell-wm.h"
 
 #include "display.h"
-#include "window.h"
 
 /* This file includes modified code from
  * desktop-data-engine/engine-dbus/hippo-application-monitor.c
@@ -95,9 +93,6 @@ struct _ShellAppMonitor
   gboolean currently_idle;
   gboolean enable_monitoring;
 
-  /* <char *,guint> */
-  GHashTable *running_appids;
-
   GHashTable *apps_by_wm_class; /* Seen apps by wm_class */
   GHashTable *popularities; /* One AppPopularity struct list per activity */
   int upload_apps_burst_count;
@@ -196,160 +191,6 @@ destroy_popularity (gpointer key,
   g_slist_free (list);
 }
 
-static char *
-get_wmclass_for_window (MetaWindow   *window)
-{
-  static gboolean patterns_initialized = FALSE;
-  const char *wm_class;
-  char *title;
-  int i;
-
-  wm_class = meta_window_get_wm_class (window);
-  g_object_get (window, "title", &title, NULL);
-
-  if (!patterns_initialized) /* Generate match patterns once for all */
-    {
-      patterns_initialized = TRUE;
-      for (i = 0; title_patterns[i].app_id; i++)
-        {
-          title_patterns[i].regex = g_regex_new (title_patterns[i].pattern,
-                                                 0, 0, NULL);
-        }
-    }
-
-  /* Match window title patterns to identifiers for non-standard apps */
-  if (title)
-    {
-      for (i = 0; title_patterns[i].app_id; i++)
-        {
-          if (g_regex_match (title_patterns[i].regex, title, 0, NULL))
-            {
-              /* Set a pseudo WM class, handled like true ones */
-              wm_class = title_patterns[i].app_id;
-              break;
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-  g_free (title);
-  return g_strdup (wm_class);
-}
-
-static char *
-wmclass_to_appid (const char *wmclass)
-{
-  if (!wmclass)
-    return NULL;
-  return g_utf8_strdown (wmclass, -1);
-}
-
-static char *
-get_appid_for_window (MetaWindow     *window)
-{
-  char *wmclass;
-  char *appid;
-
-  if (meta_window_get_window_type (window) != META_WINDOW_NORMAL)
-    return NULL;
-
-  wmclass = get_wmclass_for_window (window);
-  appid = wmclass_to_appid (wmclass);
-  g_free (wmclass);
-  return appid;
-}
-
-static void
-shell_app_monitor_on_window_added (MetaWorkspace   *workspace,
-                                   MetaWindow      *window,
-                                   gpointer         user_data)
-{
-  ShellAppMonitor *self = SHELL_APP_MONITOR (user_data);
-  char *appid;
-  guint refcount;
-
-  appid = get_appid_for_window (window);
-  if (!appid)
-    return;
-
-  refcount = GPOINTER_TO_UINT (g_hash_table_lookup (self->running_appids, appid));
-
-  refcount += 1;
-  g_hash_table_insert (self->running_appids, appid, GUINT_TO_POINTER (refcount));
-  if (refcount == 1)
-    g_signal_emit (self, signals[CHANGED], 0);
-}
-
-static void
-shell_app_monitor_on_window_removed (MetaWorkspace   *workspace,
-                                     MetaWindow      *window,
-                                     gpointer         user_data)
-{
-  ShellAppMonitor *self = SHELL_APP_MONITOR (user_data);
-  char *appid;
-  guint refcount;
-
-  appid = get_appid_for_window (window);
-  if (!appid)
-    return;
-
-  refcount = GPOINTER_TO_UINT (g_hash_table_lookup (self->running_appids, appid));
-
-  refcount -= 1;
-  if (refcount == 0)
-    {
-      g_hash_table_remove (self->running_appids, appid);
-      g_free (appid);
-      g_signal_emit (self, signals[CHANGED], 0);
-    }
-  else
-    {
-      g_hash_table_insert (self->running_appids, appid, GUINT_TO_POINTER (refcount));
-    }
-}
-
-static void
-shell_app_monitor_on_n_workspaces_changed (MetaScreen    *screen,
-                                           gpointer       user_data)
-{
-  ShellAppMonitor *self = SHELL_APP_MONITOR (user_data);
-  GList *workspaces, *iter;
-
-  workspaces = meta_screen_get_workspaces (screen);
-
-  for (iter = workspaces; iter; iter = iter->next)
-    {
-      MetaWorkspace *workspace = iter->data;
-
-      g_signal_handlers_disconnect_by_func (workspace,
-                                            shell_app_monitor_on_window_added,
-                                            self);
-      g_signal_handlers_disconnect_by_func (workspace,
-                                            shell_app_monitor_on_window_removed,
-                                            self);
-
-      g_signal_connect (workspace, "window-added",
-                        G_CALLBACK (shell_app_monitor_on_window_added), self);
-      g_signal_connect (workspace, "window-removed",
-                        G_CALLBACK (shell_app_monitor_on_window_removed), self);
-    }
-}
-
-static void
-init_window_monitoring (ShellAppMonitor *self)
-{
-  MetaScreen *screen;
-
-  g_object_get (shell_global_get (),
-                "screen", &screen,
-                NULL);
-
-  g_signal_connect (screen, "notify::n-workspaces",
-                    G_CALLBACK (shell_app_monitor_on_n_workspaces_changed), self);
-  shell_app_monitor_on_n_workspaces_changed (screen, self);
-
-  g_object_unref (screen);
-}
-
 static void
 shell_app_monitor_init (ShellAppMonitor *self)
 {
@@ -358,6 +199,7 @@ shell_app_monitor_init (ShellAppMonitor *self)
   Display *xdisplay;
   char *path;
   char *shell_config_dir;
+
   /* FIXME: should we create as many monitors as there are GdkScreens? */
   display = gdk_display_get_default();
   xdisplay = GDK_DISPLAY_XDISPLAY (display);
@@ -381,11 +223,6 @@ shell_app_monitor_init (ShellAppMonitor *self)
                                                   (GDestroyNotify) g_free,
                                                   (GDestroyNotify) g_free);
 
-  self->running_appids = g_hash_table_new_full (g_str_hash, g_str_equal,
-                                                g_free, NULL);
-
-  init_window_monitoring (self);
-
   g_object_get (shell_global_get(), "configdir", &shell_config_dir, NULL),
   path = g_build_filename (shell_config_dir, DATA_FILENAME, NULL);
   g_free (shell_config_dir);
@@ -423,22 +260,6 @@ shell_app_monitor_finalize (GObject *object)
   G_OBJECT_CLASS (shell_app_monitor_parent_class)->finalize(object);
 }
 
-/**
- * shell_app_monitor_get_default:
- *
- * Return Value: (transfer none): The global #ShellAppMonitor instance
- */
-ShellAppMonitor *
-shell_app_monitor_get_default ()
-{
-  static ShellAppMonitor *instance;
-
-  if (instance == NULL)
-    instance = g_object_new (SHELL_TYPE_APP_MONITOR, NULL);
-
-  return instance;
-}
-
 /**
  * shell_app_monitor_get_most_used_apps:
  *
@@ -478,35 +299,16 @@ shell_app_monitor_get_most_used_apps (ShellAppMonitor *monitor,
   return list;
 }
 
-/**
- * shell_app_monitor_get_running_app_guesses:
- *
- * Get a list heuristically-determined application identifiers for
- * applications which are presently running.  The returned identifiers
- * are only approximate and may need further refinement or analysis.
- *
- * @monitor: An app monitor instance
- *
- * Returns: (element-type utf8) (transfer container): List of application desktop
- *     identifiers, in low case
- */
-GList *
-shell_app_monitor_get_running_app_guesses (ShellAppMonitor *monitor)
-{
-  return g_hash_table_get_keys (monitor->running_appids);
-}
-
+/* Find the active window in order to collect stats */
 void
-update_app_info (ShellAppMonitor *monitor)
+get_active_app_properties (ShellAppMonitor *monitor,
+                           char           **wm_class,
+                           char           **title)
 {
   ShellGlobal *global;
   MetaScreen *screen;
   MetaDisplay *display;
   MetaWindow *active;
-  char *wm_class;
-  GHashTable *app_active_times = NULL; /* GTime spent per activity */
-  int activity;
-  guint32 timestamp;
 
   global = shell_global_get ();
   g_object_get (global, "screen", &screen, NULL);
@@ -515,10 +317,56 @@ update_app_info (ShellAppMonitor *monitor)
 
   active = meta_display_get_focus_window (display);
 
-  if (!active)
+  if (wm_class)
+    *wm_class = NULL;
+  if (title)
+    *title = NULL;
+
+  if (active == NULL)
     return;
 
-  wm_class = get_wmclass_for_window (active);
+  *wm_class = g_strdup (meta_window_get_wm_class (active));
+  *title = g_strdup (meta_window_get_description (active));
+}
+
+void
+update_app_info (ShellAppMonitor *monitor)
+{
+  char *wm_class;
+  char *title;
+  GHashTable *app_active_times = NULL; /* GTime spent per activity */
+  static gboolean first_time = TRUE;
+  int activity;
+  guint32 timestamp;
+  int i;
+
+  if (first_time) /* Generate match patterns once for all */
+    {
+      first_time = FALSE;
+      for (i = 0; title_patterns[i].app_id; i++)
+        {
+          title_patterns[i].regex = g_regex_new (title_patterns[i].pattern,
+                                                 0, 0, NULL);
+        }
+    }
+
+  get_active_app_properties (monitor, &wm_class, &title);
+
+  /* Match window title patterns to identifiers for non-standard apps */
+  if (title)
+    {
+      for (i = 0; title_patterns[i].app_id; i++)
+        {
+          if ( g_regex_match (title_patterns[i].regex, title, 0, NULL) )
+            {
+              /* Set a pseudo WM class, handled like true ones */
+              g_free (wm_class);
+              wm_class = g_strdup(title_patterns[i].app_id);
+              break;
+            }
+        }
+      g_free (title);
+    }
 
   if (!wm_class)
     return;
diff --git a/src/shell-app-monitor.h b/src/shell-app-monitor.h
index 97e35eeee..7a808f1a0 100644
--- a/src/shell-app-monitor.h
+++ b/src/shell-app-monitor.h
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ struct _ShellAppMonitorClass
 
 GType shell_app_monitor_get_type (void) G_GNUC_CONST;
 
-ShellAppMonitor* shell_app_monitor_get_default(void);
+ShellAppMonitor* shell_app_monitor_new(void);
 
 /* Get the most popular applications for a given activity */
 GSList *shell_app_monitor_get_most_used_apps (ShellAppMonitor *monitor,
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ GSList *shell_app_monitor_get_most_used_apps (ShellAppMonitor *monitor,
                                               gint             number);
 
 /* Get whatever's running right now */
-GList *shell_app_monitor_get_running_app_guesses (ShellAppMonitor *monitor);
+GSList *shell_app_monitor_get_running_apps (ShellAppMonitor *monitor,
+                                            int              activity);
 
 G_END_DECLS
 
diff --git a/src/shell-app-system.c b/src/shell-app-system.c
index 8edb955ad..882938922 100644
--- a/src/shell-app-system.c
+++ b/src/shell-app-system.c
@@ -26,8 +26,6 @@ struct _ShellAppSystemPrivate {
   GSList *cached_app_menus; /* ShellAppMenuEntry */
 
   GSList *cached_setting_ids; /* utf8 */
-
-  GSList *cached_favorites; /* utf8 */
 };
 
 static void shell_app_system_finalize (GObject *object);
@@ -117,22 +115,6 @@ shell_app_system_finalize (GObject *object)
   G_OBJECT_CLASS (shell_app_system_parent_class)->finalize(object);
 }
 
-/**
- * shell_app_system_get_default:
- *
- * Return Value: (transfer none): The global #ShellAppSystem singleton
- */
-ShellAppSystem *
-shell_app_system_get_default ()
-{
-  static ShellAppSystem *instance = NULL;
-
-  if (instance == NULL)
-    instance = g_object_new (SHELL_TYPE_APP_SYSTEM, NULL);
-
-  return instance;
-}
-
 static void
 reread_directories (ShellAppSystem *self, GSList **cache, GMenuTree *tree)
 {
@@ -312,17 +294,3 @@ shell_app_system_get_all_settings (ShellAppSystem *monitor)
 {
   return monitor->priv->cached_setting_ids;
 }
-
-/**
- * shell_app_system_get_favorites:
- *
- * Return the list of applications which have been explicitly added to the
- * favorites.
- *
- * Return value: (transfer none) (element-type utf8): List of favorite application ids
- */
-GSList *
-shell_app_system_get_favorites (ShellAppSystem *system)
-{
-  return monitor->priv->cached_favorites;
-}
diff --git a/src/shell-app-system.h b/src/shell-app-system.h
index c74cb78e6..cbd2d2e37 100644
--- a/src/shell-app-system.h
+++ b/src/shell-app-system.h
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ struct _ShellAppSystemClass
 };
 
 GType shell_app_system_get_type (void) G_GNUC_CONST;
-ShellAppSystem* shell_app_system_get_default(void);
+ShellAppSystem* shell_app_system_new(void);
 
 GSList *shell_app_system_get_applications_for_menu (ShellAppSystem *system, const char *menu);
 
@@ -47,6 +47,4 @@ GSList *shell_app_system_get_menus (ShellAppSystem *system);
 
 GSList *shell_app_system_get_all_settings (ShellAppSystem *system);
 
-GSList *shell_app_system_get_favorites (ShellAppSystem *system);
-
 #endif /* __SHELL_APP_SYSTEM_H__ */