The only plain platforms I have now are BMX style with little pins. I prefer some type of foot retention for a variety of reasons but getting to work faster isn't really one of them. Having regular platforms may mean I'm slower on certain parts of the commute but the overall difference isn't that much.

I've used toe clips, power grips, and clipless. For me they all have their pros and cons but my least favorite are toe clips. You've got to flip them the right way to use them which in of itself isn't so bad. If you don't get them flipped however, they scrape the ground which is annoying. You've also got use the right shoes and cinch them down pretty good in order to realize their full potential. That's not real practical on my commutes.

Power grips are similar except that they don't scrape as annoyingly if the pedal is flipped the wrong way. If they're adjusted correctly you don't need to cinch them down either. Like toe clips though they work better when the pedal mates with the shoe well. They don't work as well for long distances for me because it's sort of like wearing shoes that are too tight. They'll cause my feet to go numb, especially the left one. It's probably possible to wear sandals with PowerGrips but I never tried it.