Resource Center - Windows 7
Our collection of Windows 7 information and links
Microsoft's Windows 7 Websites
Windows 7 Homepage - Your starting point to learn about Windows 7...
Videos of Windows 7 Features - Learn about the new features via these videos...
Videos of Windows 7 Features IN ACTION - See real people (okay, probably "real actors", but they look like real people...) using the new features of Windows 7 to get their everyday tasks done more efficiently and effectively. Includes a section of "7 second demos" (our favorite) which are (you guessed it) 7 seconds in length...
Windows 7 Features - QuickStart |
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| Feature* | Lets you... | So What? | Version** |
| Snap | Quickly resize windows to view side-by-side for comparison, or full screen |
You spend most of your time jumping around from window to window inside your PC. This feature helps make that easier and faster. Seems trivial, but once you start using it, you'll see that it's very valuable. Shaving seconds off of something you do 400 times a day really adds up! | H/P/U |
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| Shake | Hide all other windows so you can focus on just one (and later, show all windows when you're done being "focused"!) |
Admit it: You have so many windows open that you have no idea what's open. If you forgot your "A.D.D." medicine this morning, how can you focus on just ONE window (and actually get something done!) when there are SO many to choose from on your screen? Just grab and shake the menubar of the one you want to focus on, and "voila!", all the others disappear! Shake it again, and all the clutter re-appears! | H/P/U |
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| Jump Lists | One-click access to recently used files or common tasks for this application. You can also add documents as e-mail attachments by dragging them from the Jump List to Outlook. |
Handy feature that allows you to get one-click access back to documents you work on often, or to tasks related to that application. | H/P/U |
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| Search | Find files on your machine or your server very quickly based on both filenames or content. |
Two things:
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H/P/U |
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| Faster Boot and Shutdown | Noticeably faster than VISTA or your old Windows XP. |
Yes, it really is faster, and it takes advantages of new advances in hardware that have come along since the introduction of XP way back in 2001. | H/P/U |
| Action Center | SINGLE location for you to be notified of warnings, alerts, etc. Much better "manners" than VISTA. Less interruptions every time you click a button. |
Eliminates the "most hated" behavior of VISTA, which seemed to pop up a message saying "Did you really mean to click that button?" every time you clicked a button. Windows 7 lets YOU control how "chatty" you want Windows 7 to be. | H/P/U |
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| Libraries | You have stuff on your desktop, and files on the server. Now you can go to ONE place to work with files that actually reside in either location. |
For most users this may seem trivial, but you could argue that this is one of the most strategic developments in Windows 7. Lets you consolidate how you access all the information that you work with into a single view, even if some of the info exists on your local machine while some resides out on your network. | H/P/U |
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| Preview Pane | Lets you see the contents of a file before you open it. Valuable tool which will be new to Windows XP users. |
Nice feature that was added in VISTA. Its a button on the Windows Explorer upper-right-hand corner that lets you see a preview of what the selected file actually looks like. You can make the preview bigger or smaller. Saves time by making sure that you have the right file you want before you actually launch the application to edit or view it. | H/P/U |
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| Snipping Tool | Need to take a picture of something on the screen for an e-mail or presentation? Now you can... |
Seems trivial, but this is truly a very handy tool. Getting an error message popping up that you don't understand? Open the Snipping Tool, grab a picture of the actual error mesage, and immediately e-mail it to your support engineer. No more trying to copy arcane error message numbers or message text! Very handy! | H/P/U |
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| Calculator | Yes, even the lowly Calculator is now better. Capture "History" (remember the old adding machine paper tape showing what you've done...), as well as built-in mortgage and date-based calculations. |
Some nice additions here, although not earth-shattering. Looking to refinance your mortgage? Need to convert one unit of measure to another? Now you have another tool available to help you address those needs. | H/P/U |
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| Connect to Projector | Simplifies how to connect to a projector to show a presentation. |
How many presentations have you been to where the presenter could NOT figure out how to get the image on their screen to show up on the projector (or it looked horrible)? With Windows 7, they no longer have an excuse for wasting your time while they fumble with the projector. | H/P/U |
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| Windows Mobility Center | Single place for the "road warrior" to configure their laptop, including automating settings for when you are giving a presentation |
For those who do presentations from your laptop a lot, Windows Mobility Center allows you to configure your "Presentation Mode". So when you are presenting, it knows that you do NOT want your screensaver to kick in, but you DO want the volume on your laptop turned up, etc. | H/P/U |
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| Problem Steps Recorder | The #1 MOST important addition to Windows 7! Lets you "record" what you are doing when you are having a problem so you can send it to your support engineer. Also useful if you're trying to teach someone to use an application. |
Ever been on the phone trying to explain to an engineer what you were doing when your computer problem/error occurred? (or ever been the engineer on the other end trying to understand what in the world this person was doing to cause the error?). Problem Steps Recorder solves BOTH of these problems by letting the engineer essentially "watch over your shoulder" as you show him/her what you were doing that made the problem occur. Creates a single ZIP file that you can e-mail to support, and they can see a "slide show" of everything you did (every click, every window, etc.) You can even add notes to further annotate the recording. | H/P/U |
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| User Account Control Settings | Lets YOU control when you want to be notified of an issue, question or concern raised by Windows 7. |
Windows VISTA's most "popular" (pronounced "annoying"!) feature was the multitude of messages that appeared everytime you clicked something. Windows 7 allows YOU to decide how "chatty" you want it to be! | H/P/U |
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| AppLocker | Lets YOU control what applications are allowed to run on your machine (or machines on your network if you are the admin). Cut down on unproductive "Solitaire" games or downloaded malware by your employees. |
Advanced feature that is implemented via Group Policy (i.e. "don't try this at home!"), but very valuable both to keep your employees focused on busines-related applications/activities, as well as to prevent malware downloads. | P/U |
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| BitLocker-To-Go | Encrypt data on a removeable USB thumb drive, so if you lose it, no one else can read it. |
Encrypts USB thumb drives, so even if you lose it, the person who finds it cannot steal your data. The encryption process seems low, even on an empty thumb drive, but probably just needs additional CPU resources to speed up the process. You can also encrypt your local hard drive with BitLocker, but I would NOT recommend doing that. For most of us, encrypting your local hard drive is just too fraught with the danger of accidentally losing access to the data. If you are working with data that is THAT sensitive, you should already have other mechanisms in place to address those needs. Having said that, encrypting removable USB devices IS a good idea. I'd just make sure that you are certain that you are encrypting a COPY of the data, not the ONLY copy (so you can go back to the original source if needed). | U |
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| BranchCache | Lets branch offices download files faster by caching files locally. DRI recommended configuration requires Windows Server 2008 r2 for the branch office. |
An advanced capability when coupled with Windows Server 2008 r2. Could be very vaulable for branch offices by increasing efficiency of their WAN connection. Needs additional proof-of-concept verification/testing before real-world deployment, but has lots of promise. Also advertised to work via a server-less "distributed" model in the branch office, but I would highly recommend implementing it with a server due to security and available issues that might arise with the distributed approach. | H/P/U + W'08 Svr |
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| DirectAccess | Lets mobile workers access the corporate network as if they were in their office, and lets IT admins control those mobile machines via group policies. |
Gets rid of VPNs for mobile workers, so accessing corporate resources is much easier and faster. Also allows IT to manage those remote machines via group policies, which is very helpful. Unfortunately, implementation of this also requires IPv6 and IPSec for your environment, so coordinating, planning and orchestrating the implementation of this technology will not be trivial. (Okay, that's an understatement. Get a big room for your planning meetings so everyone who needs to be there can fit....) | H/P/U + W'08 Svr |
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* FEATURE: click to see online Microsoft information
** VERSIONS: H = Home Premium, P = Professional, U = Ultimate
Our Favorite Windows 7 Whitepapers from TechRepublic
10 Cool Tools in Windows 7 - Good introduction to some of the most valuable things to look for in Windows 7 (TechRepublic, Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MVP)
10 Reasons VISTA-haters will Love Windows 7 - Frustrated with Windows VISTA? Here's why you'll like Windows 7 ( TechRepublic, Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MVP)
10 Things you should know about moving from XP to Windows 7 - Technical article about moving from XP to Windows 7. If you're not an engineer, "don't try this at home" (especially that 'multi-boot' thing!), but some very good background on what to consider (TechRepublic, Greg Shultz)
Making the Business Case for Windows 7 - Overview of the business benefits of Windows 7 (TechRepublic, Deb Shindler)