Okay, so my dad bought a laptop with Windows Vista and an upgrade disk which he used on the desktop computer. So far I am impressed, but one thing that I believe is changeable without changing to a classic theme that will plague me endlessly is the fact that the "programs" part of the start menu now functions like the expand/collapse windows in the open/save dialogs of older OSes. I want to get those arrows back so it just opens a new bar, like in Windows XP, if that makes sense.

It will probably be obvious, like right-clicking the task bar and doing something in properties but I haven't had a chance to try that yet.

Hi rodents...i believe you're talking about the start menu -> All programs thing?

As far as I'm aware...this is how it's stuck without going to classic...it's designed to keep the screen clutter free which i personally like...I'll ask around and see if there's a way to change it, but i dont think so.

Ugh, that's a very stupid feature. You'd think Microsoft would consider a variety of preferences before deciding to do something. I hate the classic theme and I also hate this feature. They'd better fix in in SP1, because that's probably when I'll get Vista for my build. If not, there will always be some sort of 3rd-party software to get around this eventuall, but it will probably be spyware-ridden like my beloved WindowBlinds.

Lol.
Ill find out if it can be modified or not...but im not aware of it myself as of yet... Ill find out when i get home as i dont have vsta at work yet...i think that comes in about 2 weeks

I would agree with you on that Start menu thing. I'm using classic only because I couldn't stand the other one.
Their is a program called Vista Start Menu Vista Start Menu - A convenient alternative to the "Start" menu
The free version isn't that great.