On the flip side, where I agree with you, are subtle things that could be improved like removing all the nag screens they added to Vista. Unfortunately, many of the subtle changes in Vista were steps in the wrong direction, like moving the buttons around in IE7. What did that help? It just confuses users. At least some things, like adding extra protection against phishing, were a good thing.
I actually prefer it. Some items are 2 clicks instead of 1, but it beats scanning/scrolling.
(Then again, I like the UAC, and it doesn't bother me that much. I keep it on, and I basically only see it when installing programs or configuration changes, which I have to sudo in ubuntu anyway...)
http://gizmodo.com/5069661/windows-7-walkthrough-boot-video-...
More screenshots and more detailed explanations, including a notable change for connecting to wireless networks. Nice. From this, it actually looks like there are some pretty sweet and much needed improvements in here. Hopefully MS is finally "getting it" after all :)
If she turned on her PC, and a browser appeared, instantly, and there were no other applications, OS updates, viruses, or anything like that to worry about. Just a browser, from which she can search, read, edit, print, and then turn off again.
We've learned that it isn't sweeping changes that make a gadget great, it's the subtle reconfiguration and simplification that does.
If Windows 7 can help give my parents a better experience on their computers, I'm all for it.