Entries tagged with windows 7 - Channel 10

Add Spaces to your Taskbar

Sarah Perez — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:38:00 GMT

Over on the (unofficial) SevenForums site, one user has come up with a way to insert spaces into your Windows 7 taskbar so you can create separated icon groups. The trick involves creating some blank shortcuts that lead to a fake program and pinning those shortcuts to the taskbar.

To facilitate the process, he provided a zip file containing multiple “blank shortcuts” and blank.exe files. (Don’t worry – we scanned them with Microsoft Security Essentials – they’re safe. Other forum users tested them too).

After extracting the files, you’ll have a folder called “Blank” and a ReadMe.txt. Before pinning the Shortcuts to the taskbar, you have to move the entire “Blank” folder to C:\Windows. Then grab a shortcut and drag it to the taskbar. Now, instead of seeing a blank (white) icon, you’ll just see a space! The zip file contains four different “blank” shortcuts and you can only use one of each.

What a great trick!

Wow, Where Did All These Themes Come From?

Sarah Perez — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:46:00 GMT

Rob Margel recently discovered a great March theme for Windows 7 users at download.live.com which features shamrocks and other spring-related imagery. I thought I’d go check out the Windows 7 Personalization gallery to grab it and whatever else was new, too. However, for some reason, the Shamrock theme isn’t there. No matter, since Rob posted the direct link for the download. However, I was surprised to see the gallery had a ton of new themes since my last visit only a couple of months ago. There are now several regional themes like Canada, Australia, Czech Spring, China, Baltic Beaches, France, India, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and a dozen or so others. Plus, there are new animal themes like “dogs in summer,” “cats everywhere,” and “Year of the Tiger.”

But lately, I have to admit that I’ve found myself addicted to Smashing Magazine’s Windows 7 theme collections which they release monthly. They offer themes made up of artistic backgrounds that come packaged as two different options – those with an embedded calendar and those without. I like to grab those without the calendar myself so I can reuse them later on when I’m ready for a change. You can grab the last collection here.

Geosense for Windows

Sarah Perez — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:23:00 GMT

Popular bloggers Long Zheng of iStartedSomething and Rafeal Rivera of Within Windows joined forces to create a Windows 7 sensor driver that connects the location platform of Windows 7 with geolocation service providers. The new tool, called Geosense for Windows, is now available for download from both of their websites (click links above).

As Zheng noted on his blog, Windows 7 offers a built-in location platform and accompanying API which allows third-party developers to build location-aware native apps. However, the way the platform was designed, it required OEMs to first ship GPS-enabled laptops before developers could take advantage of this feature. The Geosense application is essentially a workaround for that limitation as it provides a way to connection the location platform in Windows with various geolocation providers. The providers match and triangulate known cell towers and wireless access points to estimate latitude and longitude.

By offering Geosense for Windows for free, Zheng and Rivera have made Windows 7 location-aware and they hope that third-party developers will take advantage of this to create new applications for the platform.

Windows Easy Transfer Tool Tip: Back Up Windows Live Writer

Sarah Perez — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:28:00 GMT

Over the weekend, I had the fun experience of reinstalling Windows 7 – no, I’m not being sarcastic, I’m a geek, I like doing things like this. For one thing, a fresh install lets me pare down the number of applications I’ve crammed onto the machine to just the essentials. And despite my move to the cloud for many things, I’m always surprised at the number of desktop programs I still use. (For example, Windows Live tools like Messenger and Live Writer, Adobe Photoshop and Reader, FileZilla for FTP uploads, Microsoft Office, and Skype just to name a few.

Anyway, after backing up the essentials (files, photos, music, videos, and my user account) via the included Windows Easy Transfer tool, it occurred to me that I needed to back up my Windows Live Writer settings too. This led me to the free software program called Windows Live Writer Backup. I thought I had used this in the past successfully, but this time around the program just hung. It looks like the current version was released back in the summer of last year, so maybe it just needs an update? (It’s open source, guys, so have at it!).

Since I couldn’t automate the process with the tool, I took a couple of screenshots of my settings and moved on. After reinstalling Windows, re-downloading my favorite programs and re-running the Easy Transfer tool to restore my files and other settings, I launched Windows Live Writer. I was prepared to reconfigure my settings using the saved screenshots, but - low-and-behold! - they were already there! I guess the Easy Transfer tool grabbed them too. How nice!

If you’re preparing to reinstall Windows (and users of the Release Candidate like I was – this means you!), I thought you’d be grateful to know about this little tip. It certainly made my experience easier and hopefully will help you too.

An FTP App Designed with Windows 7 in Mind

Sarah Perez — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:06:00 GMT

I’ve been using FileZilla for my FTP needs in the past, but the features built into this new FTP program have me interested in taking a deeper look. The (uncreatively named) “Windows 7 FTP Application” was recently featured on the Life Rocks 2.0 blog where a couple of its specialized Windows 7 features were mentioned. Intrigued, I went directly to the program’s page over on the CodeProject site, where it states that the goal of the new software is to create a fully functional FTP program that uses “the new functions found in Windows 7.”

Specifically, the software implemented the Windows 7 libraries feature within the program for easy access to your most common file stores. It also provides a login form, download form, and upload form created using Aero technology. And as you upload and download files to and from a remote site, the progress of those file transfers is shown using the thumbnail previews in the new Windows 7 taskbar. Instead of seeing a small thumbnail of the open window, for example, this FTP program actually displays a dialog box complete with informational text including file name, save path, and status as well as a progress bar.

The new FTP program is available for download along with its source code from here.

Pretty Glass Gadgets for Windows 7

Sarah Perez — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:28:00 GMT

Thanks to Into Windows, I just discovered a pretty glass gadget collection for Windows 7. Gadgets, in case you don’t know, are desktop widgets that can connect to the internet to display updated information like weather or news or connect to your computer itself to deliver stats on your PC’s resources like CPU and memory usage.

But being a bit of a desktop purist myself, I’ll admit that I’ve limited my gadgets to only two so far – one for weather and one for RSS feeds. I also limit the number of desktop icons displayed too. (And thanks to Windows 7’s superbar, the taskbar turned application launcher at the bottom of the screen, this is easier than ever).

My main complaint with gadgets is the precious screen real estate they take up – I didn’t want to cover up my beautiful wallpaper! But with this new glass gadget collection, the desktop background shines through the gadgets themselves. Gorgeous! Now I can have my gadgets and my background too.

You can download the whole pack containing all 14 glass gadgets here via the Into Windows website. The gadgets are hosted on the DeviantART community site where you can also see a preview of the gadgets in action.

(Image credit: Into Windows)

ExoPC: A Beautiful and Functional Tablet Computer

Sarah Perez — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:08:00 GMT

The ExoPC is starting to get noticed around the web as an attractive blend of both tablet computers and netbooks. This 8.9” multi-touch slate offers the touchscreen goodness of tablet computing with the guts of Windows 7 underneath. According to site jkontherun.com, the ExoPC includes an Atom N270 at 1.6GHz, 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 32GB SSD, Wi-Fi, optional 3G, Bluetooth, three USB ports, and 1.3 megapixel webcam. But most importantly, the PC supports Flash – still a critical component for viewing most web-based videos including those found on social sharing sites like YouTube, news sites like CNN, and online TV portals like Hulu.

In addition, the version of Windows on the ExoPC is Windows 7 Professional which means it also offers support for native inking.

With its user-replaceable battery and $599 price point, this new tablet computer available in March will be an attractive choice for those who are looking for the convenience of a thin slate without having to give up on the features they expect to have on their portable computers.

All About Windows XP Mode in Windows 7

Larry Larsen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:26:00 GMT

One of the things I really like about Windows 7 is the inclusion of a virtualized Windows XP. I use this at home quite a bit for playing very old games and as a quarantine sandbox for suspect files.

Well if you ever wanted to know much more about Windows XP Mode, Ars Technica has a great in-depth look at XP Mode and covers what it is, how it works, and who it's for.

Get the Windows Experience Pack

Sarah Perez — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:02:00 GMT

Have you tried the new Windows Experience Pack yet? Released just last week this free software download lets Windows users customize their PC with new backgrounds, screensavers, and other features for Windows Live Messenger.

Designed primarily for Live Messenger users, this program offers additional personalization options including display pictures, emoticons, and Messenger scenes. You can then coordinate your Messenger avatar with your Windows 7 theme as the Experience Pack lets you create a desktop background featuring your personalized avatar against a “destination” background – like the beach, the mountains, an African safari, a hiking trial, etc.

The avatars are created using a combination of your own photo and a cartoon figure for a mashed creation a bit like those in the famous “Elf Youself” holiday animations.

While this download may seem a little silly to some of us more, err, mature users, you can bet that the kids will get a kick out of it. So go ahead and post this link to their Facebook wall: http://experience.windows.com.

A Deeper Look at Speech NUI

Larry Larsen — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:14:00 GMT

Rob Chambers from the Speech at Microsoft group stopped by to show us a little more about our Speech platform and where developers can get started and a look at some of the things that are possible. What you see (and hear) today is built on the backbone of our work with the Tablet PC platform. One of the bigger changes for users is that where before we had two branches of speech recognition, one for command control and one for dictation, it's now been rolled into a single system. I've used speech in the past with my Tablet, but honestly I hadn't used it much in Windows 7, but seeing someone who knows what they're doing really got me motivated to dive back in. For instance, I'm looking at using the macro system to build some speech commands that control different functions in games. :)

CES 2010: Windows Devices

Larry Larsen — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:31:00 GMT

Microsoft's Gary Schare demos some of the new hardware for Windows 7 at CES including network media devices and touch-enabled monitors that will allow you to multitouchify your current laptop or desktop.

Windows 3D Desktop Metaphor with T3Desk

Larry Larsen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:31:00 GMT

I'm not sure where I stand on "3D'ing" the desktop on my computer. I used BumpTop for a month or so, and I love the functionality but honestly it almost feels as though my screen took a step closer to 'cubicle farm' and I'm not sure what I think of that. Maybe some Natal magic interface dust will be what I need to really get into 3D UI spaces in the future. In the meantime, How-To Geek has a post on how to setup the latest 3D desktop app, T3Desk.

Windows enter 3D by right clicking on the minimize buttons, with Vista and Windows 7 it leverages the graphics of Aero for nice eye-candy transparent window effects. One thing I do really like about T3 is that all applications you minimize are grouped together in the T3 icon in the taskbar (Win7). Ultimately the staying power will depend on each user's needs. It's a free app though and it appears to work with 64-bit systems so if you're into 3D displays give it a try.

Faster Solid State Drives for Windows 7 Arrive

Larry Larsen — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:37:00 GMT

While Windows 7 supports Solid State Drives (SSD), there is a speed increasing feature that hasn't been leveraged yet. The technology is called a TRIM operation and it makes the drive faster with more complete delete operations and reduces wear.

Corsair Memory and OCZTechnology Group have released firmware updates to enable TRIM on some of their SSD's. Once installed, Windows 7 also disables ReadyBoost, Superfetch, and Disk Defrag, which are better used for speed increases on platter hard drives. We'll try to catch up with the two companies when we get to CES next week.

(Windows7News.com)

I'm a Windows 7 PC Themes

Larry Larsen — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:15:00 GMT

If you're looking for a theme and background to replace the Windows 7 Iconic Background that Denise Trabona and team worked so hard on :), WindowsValley has a Windows 7 themepack that includes four wallpapers, color appearance, sound scheme, and screen saver. The wallpapers are set to rotate every 30 minutes and are a very nice addition if you like a clean looking desktop and are a Win7 fan.

How to Delete Jump List Items

Larry Larsen — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:01:00 GMT

Jumplists are a great feature of Windows 7 and can save you a lot of time, but what if you want to get rid of the history associated with jumplists. While you can open a jumplist (drag any icon on the taskbar upward) and right click on any single history item to delete it, what if you want to delete them all? As Windows7News.com shows us, there's a way to do it but it isn't the most discoverable trick in Win7.

The directory that stores jumplist history can be found by going to

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\

You can do this by pasting that address into Windows Explorer or just hitting Start and pasting it into the search box+Enter. In this path you can select and delete, or just preface the address above with "del " followed by "*" to delete all.

Roll Back to Classic Network Indicator in Win7

Larry Larsen — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:50:00 GMT

If you're looking for a little more out of your Windows 7 network activity indicator, HowToGeek.com has a tweek that will get you back to the classic twin monitor indicator with the screens that light up when there is network activity. The tweek includes downloading a file, extracting to Program Files, and setting it to show up in the taskbar notification dialog. The new indicator has a settings selection in the right click dialog that will let you set the blink duration and choose to load at Windows Startup.

Behind the Windows 7 Startup Animation

Larry Larsen — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:08:00 GMT

You see it every day (or every few weeks for those of us who leave their computers on) now you can see the thinking behind the Windows 7 Startup Animation. Rolf Ebeling was new to Microsoft when he was handed the task of coming up with what you would see when your computer starts. Some significant changes were made to this part of the boot sequence compared to Vista, which brought both benefits and challenges, for instance when the animation loads there are no graphics or audio drivers loaded yet. See the progression of the startup animation and meet one of the people behind the product.

Progression of the Iconic Background

Larry Larsen — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:33:00 GMT

You probably know this image as the default Windows 7 background, to Denise Trabona it is the Windows 7 Iconic Background. She joins us to walk us through the progression from concept to finished product. See what might have been a very different looking background and get a feel for what designers consider when looking for a graphical representation of Windows 7.

Don't miss our previous chat with Denise on the other backgrounds that helped define the personality of Windows 7.

WindowsBlinds 7 Now Works with Windows 7

Sarah Perez — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:31:00 GMT

Remember WindowsBlinds? Back in the day, this was the go-to tool for customizing your Windows user interface. By allowing far more modifications than any theme or desktop background change would provide, WindowsBlinds became a popular way to give your computer a whole new look and feel.

Over the years, the software has received less attention, especially as the built-in themes in Windows improved to allow more granular modifications, like the selection of custom colors for window borders or, as in Windows 7, themes that allow for multiple images which change at designated intervals.

However, if you want more control over the UI, there’s still no better tool than WindowsBlinds. In the latest update to this software, the program has added support for the new Windows 7 operating system, including 64-bit versions. Thanks to this support, users can now skin Aero using a new skin format called UIS0 which is a much easier and faster way to create skins, notes the company blog post. The software also includes skins you can use out-of-the-box like Submline, Aero Metals, Corporate, Aero Woods, Aero Clay, and Sabertooth.

With WindowsBlinds running on Windows 7, you can give your desktop a Windows XP retro look (not sure why you would, but you could!), tweak the standard UI, or go all-out and do a complete overhaul of Widnows 7 down to the Start button itself.

The program, as always, is free to try, but costs $19.95 if you want to own it. You can download the trial version here.

Incredible Black Friday Deal: Windows 7 Notebook for $197

Sarah Perez — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:25:00 GMT

Here in the U.S., the day after Thanksgiving is called “Black Friday” and stores open at the crack of dawn as the start of the holiday shopping season begins. If you have the stamina and patience to fight the crowds, you can find some amazing bargains as all the stores feature special one-day-only sales on various items to entice shoppers to head their way.

One of the more incredible deals I’ve seen this year (at least as far as computers are concerned) is Best Buy’s bargain price on an HP laptop – yes laptop, not netbook – which will sell on Friday for only $197.

The HP G60-507DX normally retails for $549.99 and includes an Intel Celeron 900 processor (800MHz), a 6-cell battery, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a Intel GMA4500M GPU, and a 15.6-inch screen. The computer also runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

Of course this insanely low priced PC won’t last long – it’s what’s known as a “door buster,” meaning quantities are limited. If you want to be one of the lucky shoppers to get your hands on this computer, you’ll need to be at the front of the line. That means you’ll probably need to camp out or set your alarm for for some pre-dawn hour to beat the crowd. And don’t be surprise if a few hundred other folks also had the same idea. However, if you’re determined enough to get a new Windows 7 PC on the cheap, this is the sort of deal you can’t ignore.

Twitter App Seesmic Moves to Windows

Sarah Perez — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:56:00 GMT

The popular Twitter application from Seesmic is moving away from the Adobe AIR platform and over to Windows where it will use .NET and WPF technologies. The company also announced a Silverlight version is in the works for some sometime next year which will re-introduce the cross-platform capabilities previously offered via Adobe AIR.

Considering that some of the top Twitter applications currently use AIR (TweetDeck immediately comes to mind, for example), you may wonder why the company decided to make the switch. According to Loic Le Meur, Seesmic’s CEO, the app’s users have been asking for a native Windows client for some time. He also said that the new client will be faster and will use less memory than the AIR version.

Le Meur notes on his blog that the new app will also offer some great Windows-only features, including location-based updates and access to several languages in spell checker.

If you’re interested in trying the new version of Seesmic for Windows, you can sign up now to join Team Seesmic, the company’s exclusive band of beta testers. Team Seesmic members get early access to all the company’s releases and are kept up-to-date with emails about the new products and upgrades.

3M Multitouch Kit

Larry Larsen — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:51:00 GMT

If you're looking for a drop in monitor that supports Windows 7 Multitouch applications, 3M has a kit for you. This 19" monitor may seem very pricey at $1499, but keep in mind this is huge for a capacitive display. Normally monitors this large will have an optical tracking system for the touchpoints, leaving you with 2-4 touch points at best. This capacitive glass-front display is good for a full 10-point multi-touch experience. Check the site for more details and videos of the monitor in action.

7 Taskbar Tweaker Lets You Change Windows 7 Taskbar Functionality

Sarah Perez — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:17:00 GMT

When I first heard about the 7 Taskbar Tweaker software via the DownloadSquad.com blog, I wondered why anyone would ever want to change the Windows 7 taskbar. I mean, I personally love how the taskbar operates by default. But I suppose there are some people out there who are lamenting about why the taskbar can’t do this or that. For those folks, the Taskbar Tweaker many come in handy.

With this application, you can switch off jump lists and replace them with standard menus (why? Jump lists are great!), choose to not group applications (noooo!), change what the a left click does, and more. However, the only setting that would appeal to me in this application is its ability to adjust what the middle click button does. With Taskbar Tweaker, you can change it to close a window or focus a window instead of launching a new program instance. Since I don’t typically launch more than one app (most of my apps are in the browser anyway), this one could actually be a nice tweak. A middle click is a bit easier than having to click on that tiny little red X button to close an app, which Lee Mathews also points out in his blog post.

Still, for that one setting alone, I don’t think I’ll be downloading a whole new software program just to make the switch. But that’s just me. You might find more settings you want to tweak than I do. If so, you can download the Tweaker application for yourself from here (32 and 64-bit versions are available.)

Adding Flip 3D to Windows 7's Taskbar

Sarah Perez — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:09:00 GMT

The Windows7News blog has a handy tip on how you can add Windows 7’s Flip 3D feature directly to the new Windows 7 taskbar. Introduced in Windows Vista, Flip 3D is the more dazzling version of Windows Flip which lets you cycle through your open windows using a keyboard shortcut. Most users are already familiar with the basic “Flip” action – a cycling feature activated by pressing ALT + TAB. However, those who are just arriving to Windows 7 from Windows XP may not have known about “Flip 3D,” a feature introduced in Vista. Activated through Windows Key + TAB, the open windows’ thumbnails are now live updating, meaning if you have a video playing in one, it will continue to play in the 3D interface.

Although this feature is only a keyboard combo away, there are those of you out there who prefer to have access to features from icons you can click with your mouse. (You’ll know if you fall into this category if you’ve been finding yourself wondering why the “Show Desktop” button got moved in Windows 7 all the way over to the far right of the taskbar.)

For this group of users, the following tip will come in handy.

Adding Flip 3D to the Taskbar

As you already know, the new Windows taskbar lets you pin your frequently used applications to its interface for quick launching. Since Flip 3D is essentially just an application, the same can be done with it, too. Just follow these steps (courtesy of Windows7News):

1. Right-click on your desktop, select New, and then select Shortcut.

2. In the location field, type C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe dwmapi #105 (assuming that Windows is installed on C:)

3. Click Next, and then type Window Switcher for the shortcut name, then press Finish.

4. Right-click on the Window Switcher shortcut that you just created and then click on Properties.

5. Click on the Change Icon… button.

6. In the Look for icons in this file field type %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\imageres.dll, and then press Enter.

7. Select the first icon and then click on OK.

8. Click on OK to dismiss the properties dialog.

9. Drag the Window Switcher shortcut from your desktop onto the taskbar.

Note: Flip 3D will only work if Aero is enabled.

Windows 7 Market Share Climbing Fast

Sarah Perez — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:54:00 GMT

This is pretty impressive – Windows 7 hasn’t been out for even 2 weeks yet and already it’s achieved a 3.48% market share as of the end of October according to the tracking firm Net Applications. To put that in perspective, Mac’s OSX has a 5.27% total share. And given the speed at which the percentage is climbing, Windows 7 should pass the install base of OSX sometime in the next two months.

According to Vince Vizzaccaro of Net Applications, Vista didn’t climb as fast as this during its early days. He also noted that the company saw surges over the past weekend which was also different – historically, Windows saw higher usage market share on weekdays, not weekends.

Overall, Windows is still doing well, too, with a 92.52% market share that includes all versions of the OS. (And would you believe that 0.11% are still using Windows 98?! That’s just crazy. Somebody help these people).