Gnome 3 Customization

I recently re-installed Ubuntu 11.10 earlier and I have been re-installing applications and customizing for a while now. The major portion of this is finally getting Gnome 3 to look a little better.

I can do everything I want to do with the shell now that I have experimented with it. The only thing I do not know how to do is remove the icon on the taskbar that shows which window is currently open. This icon is to the right of the "Applications" icon; I actually do not like it being there or anywhere else. Is there any way to remove it?

Also, could I possibly make Gnome 3 a little more friendly for my slower computer? I notice that there are shadows on the windows and possibly a few animations I could do without.