I have to say that after using WordPress 2.7 for a few weeks and listening to Jane talk about the motives behind the new layout… it aint bad I am a convert to Vertical Navigation. The only thing I’d say about your screen shot is… who is using that many plugins to warrant a settings page that long ;)

I’ll still probably use admin drop down on some sites though. I think both have their merits and you should make your decision on a site by site basis :D