Win 7 seems to do it in a different way now. It downloads the patches in the background but doesn't install them until you choose to shutdown/restart your computer, its a pretty good compromise. If I'm hitting the sack at 3am I choose "Shutdown", Windows installs all the updates and the PC shuts off.
Of course, if you want a quick restart then having to install the patches on a restart could end up being annoying, but it is only once a month.
