Cool stuff for windows 7

Of course, previous versions of Windows included a backup utility, but this tool has been significantly improved in Windows 7. Vista's backup program was user friendly but not very flexible. Windows 7 gives you more granular control over what you want to back up. Previous versions of Windows include a command-line interpreter command.

PowerShell can be downloaded to run on Windows XP or Vista, but Windows 7 is the first client operating system that comes with it built in. It is also installed by default in Windows Server R2. PowerShell v2 adds about new cmdlets, as well as new APIs and features, such as the ability to invoke PowerShell scripts and cmdlets on a remote computer.

You can find out more about PowerShell on the Microsoft Web site. Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MCSE, MVP is a technology consultant, trainer, and writer who has authored a number of books on computer operating systems, networking, and security.

Deb is a tech editor, developmental editor, and contributor to over 20 add It's all combined in an easy-to-use Control Panel applet, where you get maintenance and security messages and can view performance information, change UAC settings, and more, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A The Windows 7 Action Center provides a centralized location for dealing with security and system problems. This is an outgrowth of the Security Center in Windows Vista. It made sense to combine security settings and actions with system maintenance and recovery issues. The Action Center also shows up as an icon in the system tray, which displays a red X if there are problems you need to address, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B The Action Center is represented by an icon in the System Tray to alert you when a message needs your attention. However, they can also be accessed by holding the left mouse button and dragging upwards. If you're using a laptop touchpad or a touch screen, this is convenient because you do not have to click any button to access a context menu.

You can add any library or folder to the Favorites section in Windows Explorer. To add a folder, navigate to it in Explorer, right-click Favorites in the left navigation pane, and select Add current location to Favorites.

Right-click, drag, and pin your favorite folders to Windows Explorer on the taskbar. They will now show up in the Jump List when you right click on Explorer giving you quick access to your favorite folders.

You cannot pin the Control Panel to the taskbar via the Start Menu or by drag and drop. Open the Control Panel and right-click its taskbar icon to pin it to the taskbar.

An advantage of this is that Control Panel's Jump List allows quick access to recently used functions. You can create keyboard shortcuts for any program in Windows 7. Right-click the program icon and select Properties. Select the Shortcut tab, click in Shortcut key , to set the keyboard shortcut for that program. Like the command prompt? This also works on the desktop. No power toy required! Press Shift when right-clicking on a folder to get an expanded Send To menu.

Don't launch an operating system that's ridiculously slower than your last operating system. And finally, don't launch an operating system that requires a huge memory upgrade to run as well as the operating system it's replacing.

After spending a week with Microsoft's new Windows 7 beta, we can say that the company has taken the Vista lessons to heart in its latest OS. Windows 7 boots faster, takes up fewer system resources, offers smarter navigation options, and simplifies tasks such as setting up a home network. There are a lot of features in Windows 7 that we haven't explored yet such as the new touch screen options, hand writing recognition, and DirectX While touch screen computing and handwriting recognition seem pretty cool, they're not particularly relevant to PC gaming.

DirectX 11 counts as a gaming-related feature--but it's also coming to Windows Vista, so it's not really a feature unique to Windows 7. Windows 7 comes with a snazzy new taskbar that makes finding and using windows, tabs, and programs much easier.

The traditional Windows Vista taskbar shows individual folders and programs. It's not uncommon to get taskbars two or three layers deep for users who like to keep a lot of open items. The Windows 7 taskbar helps organize similar items to save space. You have the option to enable folder and application grouping in Vista and XP, but finding individual windows didn't work as smoothly on the older operating systems. Windows 7 taskbar folders stack together and provide clear previews of their contents on mouseover.

Internet Explorer 8 Web browser tabs get their own individual thumbnail previews that show up side by side to help you find the page you want. Users can also pin programs to the taskbar, a la quicklaunch, but these Windows 7 taskbar buttons can do a lot more than just launch the program.

Click on the Windows Live Messenger icon to open a host of options that will let you change your away status or send a message right from the taskbar. The Windows Media player button lets you play files or enable shuffle and Internet Explorer brings up a list of recently visited sites that you can launch instantly. We also like the new window management features. You can throw windows against the side of the screen to make them take up exactly half the screen.

Pull two windows to opposite sides to compare and read two documents in a snap. The windows revert back to their original sizes when you pull them away from the edges of the screen. Additionally, you can shake one window side-to-side to quickly minimize everything else on the screen.