oakranger is mostly asking about services (those background processes that Vista has so many of). So if any of you have gone to blackviper.com and learned anything about Vista thats what he wants to know. I think the list is a little overwhelming and technical for not just oak but a lot of people so starting this thread isnt such a bad idea.
Oakranger I went down the entire list of processes I have on my system and shut down the ones I thought I could do without. I used not only what Alacrity could tell me but also what I could learn on each process at blackviper.com and I did this by looking up the name of the process on Google. If I had a process that blackviper didnt list I always found something on Google about it. I went down the list of processes running on my system which you can see by using the start button and then right clicking on 'Computer' and then choosing 'Manage.' Expand out the list of 'Services and Applications' and then click on 'Services.'
Every system is different because of the devices and programs installed to that system so you will have to do this specifically for your system.
On Alacrity I have the following set as 'Stop and Restart' for Services and Program tabs:


I think you can easily see that you wont have the same stuff loaded or running.