I,ve just started using Vista Ultimate with SP1 and everything you have described (including the screen shots) appears to be available to me, and I'm still finding new stuff ecery day! The system is stable and working beautifully. I have been able to load all my well used software and peripherals with no apparant problems or issues.
All my programmes open in the blink of an eye including Acrobat 8 Pro and Outlook 2007 which I use for my POP3 mail.
If I can get all this is it still worth having a look at W7?