There is a way to get old fashioned quicklaunch back 100% - but it's hidden from view and requires file/folder manipulation, possibly a registry tweak. I'm not sure, I havn't needed it. I know it's certainly not as simple as switching an option on in an applet somewhere, but all the code supporting quicklaunch is still there somewhere.
Quite frankly, since you now drag any program you want to 'sticky' straight into the main toolbar - why this is considered any different is beyond me. True, there are slightly different controls when switching between windows of the same application - but this can easily be set back to 'normal' (which is the first thing I did). Really, a lot of people complain about the change made (which I think is good) because they're too impatient to learn how to best use something.
Quite frankly, since you now drag any program you want to 'sticky' straight into the main toolbar - why this is considered any different is beyond me. True, there are slightly different controls when switching between windows of the same application - but this can easily be set back to 'normal' (which is the first thing I did). Really, a lot of people complain about the change made (which I think is good) because they're too impatient to learn how to best use something.