Is that really accurate? Can't you boot into Windows and have an image on your screen that is not Explorer? Whereas, when you boot into OSX, what you get is Finder, whether there's a finder window (equivalent to Explorer?) open or not. Is the same true with Windows and Explorer? Just askin'.
In Windows, Explorer.exe is always running. If you end task on Explorer, Windows shuts down. It's an integral part of the OS. The same is true for Finder in Mac OS X. If you open any app that uses/creates files such as Preview, TextEdit, MS Word, etc., when you open, save, save as.... those operations are performed by Finder. Those apps, like many others, can't run without Finder.
I have already done this, and can quit Finder. However, when I quit Finder and all the other open applications, Finder reopens. I want to know if there is a way to keep Finder closed.
If you want your Mac to run properly, Finder must be running.
I want to know how for two reasons:
1. I'm just curious. I don't know if I'll actually do it very often, but its interesting to know.
2. It can be nice to sometimes hide all the icons on my desktop so that it looks a little less cluttered.
1. If you disable any part of Mac OS X, you won't have full functionality. It's not a smart thing to do.
2. Quitting Finder isn't the solution for hiding icons on the desktop. As already mentioned, use Finder preferences to disable the display of many items. If you don't want user-created folders to show on the desktop, don't put them there in the first place.