I think the previous homepage managed to incorporate all of the different design elements which in turn held the website together.
At the very least, provide a cookie driven option to switch to the previous homepage.
Microsoft claims that the new site has 50 percent fewer links than the previous homepage.
Mark Spencer's previous homepage (copies at the Internet Archive)
Please give us a choice to return to the previous homepage if the comments are all as negative as I've read so far.
What I would like is for Mr Thornett (it is his responsibility after all) to admit a mistake was made and for the previous homepage to be reinstated while further consideration is given.
Jakko M. Jakszyk @ MySpace (replaces previous homepage)