Less clutter
An XP theme would be hugely welcome.
W7 is eyecatching...but too much so. It is a drain on the brain. There is too much fading, translucency, glowing, shading...its is excessive.
By contrast, XP was clear, crisp and had very little unnecessary visualisations.
XP also rendered fonts better with ClearType switched off. Plus, W7 does not allow system fonts to be altered, so you are stuck with blurry Segoe for system fonts.
A simple XP theme for Windows 7 ought to include all the XP fonts (system wide), colours and program menu bars. Anyone engaged in psychologically sensitive activies such as design or writing would welcome a distraction free theme - which XP provided.
The closest us sensitive souls can get is the Classic theme in W7, which is too brutal. I await a creative genius providing a happy medium.