How to disable 3.3 Tooltips?

You could also remove the pointer script and style from their respective arrays just after they have been registered using this method.

// Remove javascript
add_action( 'wp_default_scripts' , 'remove_pointer_script' );
function remove_pointer_script( $wp_scripts ) {
    $wp_scripts->remove('wp-pointer');
}

// Remove stylesheet
add_action( 'wp_default_styles' , 'remove_pointer_style' );
function remove_pointer_style( $wp_styles ) {
    $wp_styles->remove('wp-pointer');
}

The remove method is part of the dependencies class which is extended by both the WP_Scripts and WP_Styles classes, it basically does the inverse of the add method, which is used inside core to register default scripts and styles. Mentioned incase you’re curious where that method comes from and what it’s for..

I suppose you could also encapsulate those actions in a current_user_can check also if you wanted to wipe them out for specific users, say admins.

if( current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
    add_action( 'wp_default_scripts' , 'remove_pointer_script' );
    add_action( 'wp_default_styles' , 'remove_pointer_style' );
}

Personally i quite like the new tooltips, and it’s quite a shame there’s not a simple API available for utilizing them in plugins yet, but i can see how it could be annoying when you’re doing numerous installs or upgrades and just need to get things done.