Well, he was pretty much JPII's right hand man, so there's no reason he would be completely different. I think he'll just continue like his predecessor, but in his own way.

I also heard something interesting. Before John XXIII became pope, he was one of the more conservative cardinals out there, but once he became pope, he initiated Vatican II, where Ratzinger was also present... I think this guy got an unfair rap of being conservative because of the post he occupied. He was the doctrinal supervisor, and had to make sure all the catholics weren't deviating from their dogma. Given that job, it's only normal he would come across as a hard-ass. I think he'll be a good pope too.