As a Google user (gmail, calendar, reader, notebook) taking a look at the new Live.com frontpage, it looks nice. No scrollbars at all unlike yahoo.com and the images used seem to belong in the page. Unlike the text they keep adding to the Google front page, these links seem thought out as to where to place them and what to keep.
What's thought out or well-placed about the link I see on the front page?: "Can you guess today's hottest celeb? Check xRank Celebrity." I can't recall anything similar on Google's.
Yes, it looks ok, but it takes five times longer to load.