NEWBIE made the icons on the top of my desktop screen disappear, and I have no idea how to get them back. These are basic icons, like internet wireless bars, the little green man for on/off, firefox, OpenOffice applications...and so on.
How do I 1f40 get these icons back? Please help. I lack computer experience, so I need simple instructions. Thank you for your help.

If the panel is still there, just right click on it, and select "Add to panel" or something of that sort. A menu will pop up and you will be able to select the items you want. Also, if you want application shortcuts, you can just drag the from the Applications menu and drop them on the panel

Hope this helps...