You can change what the Power Button does when you press it. Make it Shut down, Hibernate, Sleep or Do Nothing via Control panel.

The Windows 7 taskbar combines window management with an application launcher, since you can right-click on any item and pin it to the taskbar, but that's not nearly enough for a power user.

The meter button changes from blue to green when you are on battery power, and clicking on the meter button switches the display between actual time remaining or a percentage view.