Luddites unite

I've finally arrived, dragging my heels and decrying my hatred for change. Yes, I have Window 7 and it is great*

*Your experiences may vary depending on whether you've followed the necessary steps listed below:

1. Remove Aero. Yes, I said it.
   Who wants indeterminant active windows of a translucent nature when you can have clearly-defined windows that don't sap CPU and memory just for the sake of some 'bling'? Yes aero is 'sexy' but it is useless.
   
   

   

   Which one is active? ... hmmm let me see.

   
   
2. Replace the mindf*** that is the default start menu.
   I'm not sure on what planet they thought that searching for each program you wish to run was a good idea.
   
   Sure, it remembers the last most-recent programs you ran but it doesn't maintain the order so it's pot luck each time you click on start. I recommend using classic shell - it's free and very powerful and, if you're still feeling masochistic, you can instantly revert to the old menu just by holding down shift.
   
   

   

   I pity tha fool who prefers the left-hand side 

   
   

   As an added bonus, I'm able to have a separate restart/hibernate/shut down as the good lord dictates.

   
   
3. Remembering where the icons are placed on your desktop should be out of the box, shouldn't it? Shouldn't it? Well, it isn't, so there is an app for that (thank you apple). So next time your screen decides to futz and bugger your icon locations, turn to this to avoid irritation. You are welcome.
   
   
4. Being able to delete a folder that is somehow locked by another process should be your god-given right, shouldn't it? Well it isn't but there is a fix for that.
   
   
5. Are those favourites / libraries links annoying you and taking up unnecessary space in windows explorer?
   Well, there is a hack for that.
   
   

   

   Not quite sure how they ever thought that was a good idea...

   
   
6. Is the task bar hiding all your active processes under one icon while you manically try to determine which of the mini windows is actually the process you want to open?
   Well, there's a fix for that. Actually, it's just a tweak, thank goodness. Microsoft had a bit of foresight this time and decided not to hard-code it in. Right-click on start bar, select properties and then select 'never combine' next to task bar buttons and the horrors abate once more.
   
   

   

   ...the horror

   
   

   After all that you have something you can actually use, well, I can use. Maybe I'm just dragging my knuckles into the next decade of this millennia, but I think these changes make windows useful once more. It makes using windows intuitive and productive which I'm not sure I can say about the default version.

   
   

   At least with Windows 7 they fixed the control panel - it is so streamlined that it becomes second nature. It's brilliant not having to traverse multiple disconnected and ambiguously-named pages to change a single setting. It's brilliant automatically knowing where the setting is without having to use google. Yes. Well done Microsoft.