Ubuntu natty alpha3 version: How do I get the old Application menu back?

Before the latest Ubuntu version, which badly tries to immitate Windows Vista/7 and Mac OS, there was this nice, easy to understand, qucik-to-find-what-you-need at one side of the desktop. One could easily add or remove applications from the menu and design the bar to one's liking. To accomodate one's own's needs instead of being a slave to your comuputer lies at the heart of Ubuntu, I believe. What happened to that? How do I do these changes now? How do I get back my old menu structure and the ability to change the appearance of about everything?

P.S. Over the last half year, Ubuntu has turned really bad overall: less stabil, less convenient. I am now as dissatisfied with it as I was with Windows the last time!