A nice thing about Windows XP is that, unlike Mac OS X 4, which I understand is the most perfect OS ever made in the whole world, Windows XP has tons of annoying things.  What's nice is finding stuff like this [Registry Edits for Windows XP], which allow you to do something about them.  Just fixing the two stinkers below makes me dance a jig.

Close Applications Not Responding at Shutdown - When an application fails to respond during shutdown a dialog box is displayed prompting the user to either end it now or to wait. Enabling the value AutoEndTasks will take care of the non-responding application without user intervention. This is often referred to as “Force Exit”.

Modify Shutdown Time For Services To Close - Often times when XP is shutting down a dialog appears saying the system is waiting for a service to close. This tweak will reduce (or increase) the amount of time that expires before this warning appears. In some cases it may be desirable to allow the service more time, but most often a shorter delay is desirable. The lower the number entered the quicker the task will end.