after almost 2 years of using os x i only knew that now... always wondered how you could start an app from the keyboard. i never bothered to ask since i'm mostly in iterm and tmux sessions. thanks :)

Cmd-O has opened files and applications alike since I can remember (OS 6.) It's no more/less sensible than Windows, just different.

I would argue in this instance that open is a more common action than rename and thus belongs to the enter key.

Plus every terminal (including on Mac) and every other OS uses Enter to execute a command or program.

Edit: wow, downvoted for expressing a fact. Stay classy.