If you got hold of a beta of Windows 7 way back in January of this year, it's important for you to know that the install will expire in in one week from the day I'm authoring this post. So here's your one week warning: Windows 7 Beta expires July 1, 2009.

The good news is you're not totally shafted. It's pretty easy to get your hands on a copy of the Windows 7 RC. Although the upgrade scenario isn't supported (my personal policy is to always start fresh when using beta software, especially when it's the OS), the Windows engineering team has written a blog post that describes how to attempt to perform an upgrade.

Anyway, the moral of the post is this: if you are still running the Windows 7 Beta, the clock is ticking. Back up your data and either move to the Windows 7 RC (it works *great*, by the way) or back to an RTM version of Windows.

A couple of weeks ago I requested feedback on topics we should put forward for our August and September event dates. Unfortunately that call for feedback only generated one piece of feedback – the really good topic of Commerce Server 2009.

So I'm curious again… Tell us what topics you would like to see in our late summer events. Is Commerce Server a good topic? Or should we dig deep into Azure and what it means for architects, developers and IT/operations professionals?

Direct message me on Twitter or leave a comment here.

I've linked up several new 10-4 videos to the webcast and video archive listing on my web site. I also have several (now somewhat dated) presentations as well as upcoming events and upcoming webcasts listed up there as well.

Hopefully, if I manage to carve out some time later this today or this week, I will write a post that lists a load of readiness resources for IE8, Azure, ASP.NET AJAX, and Visual Studio 2010 I've been hoarding. Yeah, some of them date back a couple of months, but these are readiness resources (translation: light training resources) scattered hither and yon across our various Microsoft.com sites and properties. I thought I'd collate them together into a single post or few (topically grouped, of course) to make it easier for you to find them.

Before that post I need to share an update on my experiences with the Windows 7 RC I have running on my Dell Latitude E6400 work laptop. Very, very nice… Powerful, fast, and quite robust. I am very pleased, even though it took me the better part of a month getting it set up and configured with all my preferred apps and customizations. If I didn't tweak everything like crazy, I swear I could be more agile.

We've locked in late summer and early fall dates for our ArcReady, MSDN Events Unleashed, and TechNet Events Unleashed series. They will be starting roughly mid-August and running through the end of September. As of now we will be visiting all of our usual cities, and – based on feedback from people in the community – we are looking at the possibility of visiting other cities than our core 16 or 17.

ArcReady
This is our event series for architects and the more senior developers interested in architecture or people interested in becoming architects. We predominately focus on overarching themes and topics, such as cloud computing, web site performance and scalability or – the current event series topic – architecting for the client. We explore architectural paradigms, key concepts, and patterns and how you can apply them to your business initiatives or challenges.

MSDN Events Unleashed
These events are an extension of the nationally-planned and -run MSDN Events. They focus in on one or two core development topics, digging deep into developing solutions using Silverlight and Blend, producing client applications using WPF, or how to best exploit Windows 7 in custom-developed applications. This is our bread-and-butter development event series.

TechNet Events Unleashed
Similar to our locally run developer events, these are an extension of the nationally-executed TechNet Events. These events deliver topics relevant to the IT professionals, from Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to Exchange and SharePoint to System Center. These speakers are the experts, and will help IT professionals plumb the internals of our core infrastructure products and technologies.

A Request for Feedback
Here's the rub – we have not chosen topics yet. As the manager in charge of audience and community engagement in the Central Region (which involves running these events, amongst other things), I would like to hear from you.

Do you have any suggestions? Are there any topics or products you would like to see us cover? If so, leave a comment at http://twitter.com/briandmoore or on the old blog here.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard by now that the Windows 7 Release Candidate is available for download for MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Tomorrow, May 5th, it becomes available broadly for everyone. I spent some time this past weekend installing the 64-bit version fresh on my Dell Latitude E6400 as well as my wife's Dell Inspiron™ 15. Both installs went pretty much flawlessly.

My E6400 – The Work Laptop
On my work computer, the Windows Experience Rating (how well the system performs) increased from 3.5 with Windows Vista to 3.8 on Windows 7. The low scoring component was a business-class graphics adapter, which isn't terribly relevant as I don't play games on my work computers. As a counterpoint, everything else (CPU, memory, disk IO, etc.) all jumped from high 4.x and low 5.x scores to high 5.x scores with the move to Windows 7. Unlike my M1330, this E6400 is ripping fast with a speedy Core Duo processor, great cache, and a 7200RPM SATA drive. The laptop is a rocket with Windows 7.

Install only took about 15 minutes, and every device except one (a fingerprint reader) was found with 64-bit drivers. All were found from the install media, and only the graphics adapter had a Windows Update push a few minutes after getting the network up and running. I will have to hunt down that fingerprint reader driver, but even in this the Action Center knew what was missing so I didn't even have to troll through Device Manager to find out. (Honesty time: I did check Device Manager, too, but that's just because I'm a geek.)

I've had a chance to play with it a bit today and it's every bit as fast, if not faster, than the beta. Even more impressive, this OS is solid. With a good 9 hours of straight use it's still running like a champ, performing strong and no glitches encountered thus far.

My Wife's Inspiron – The Family Laptop
On my wife's computer, the Windows Experience Rating went from 3.5 under Windows Vista to 4.0 under Windows 7. That's a pretty hefty jump. The install was quite fast, from FDISK to boot in roughly 20 minutes. Every single device was recognized and supported (yes, this is x64). All 4GB of RAM is recognized, and almost all of her core applications installed fine. Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat, and Adobe Flash all worked great, though I did have to change the defaults for Adobe – their site thought I was running Windows NT 4.0; a quick change to Vista 64-bit and everything installed and ran fine.

I only had one issue with the initial setup: Norton Internet Security 2009. The installer blocked on Windows 7, claiming it was an unsupported system. Easy to correct with the Compatibility Troubleshooter (right-click the executable). I selected Windows Vista SP1 mode, launched the installer, and it installed just fine and is running nicely.

I will point out that, once I turned the laptop over to her, she did run into a glitch installing the Java runtime from a website plug-in. I didn't have a chance to troubleshoot, but I suspect it's something that can be either worked around by getting the runtime direct from Sun or otherwise addressed. I am confident she can still do most if not all of the things she is used to doing in Windows Vista. I'll update with a post to let you know how things are running for her.

One Last Plug
Did I mention Windows 7 fast? Very, very fast…

Update – 4/14: An event has been added (ArcReady in Grand Rapids, MI) and two event dates (Nashville and Knoxville) have swapped dates. See below...

Spring brings not only rain and flowers (you know, April shows and May flowers), it also brings our spring technical events. And this time our technical events are taking on a slightly different form.

Okay, to be completely honest, we are still calling the sessions ArcReady (our event for architects and those who want to become architects), MSDN Events Unleashed (for the developer), and the new TechNet Events Unleashed (for the IT Professional). But we are also doing something different for the spring event series: there's a single, connected theme running throughout all events.

And what is that theme, you ask? It's all things next generation Windows client, featuring Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8!

ArcReady – Brain Food for the Architect
The client (or presentation) tier of our applications is taking on an increasingly important role. Users are expecting more compelling user interfaces, but they also want more functionality from their applications. In this ArcReady we examine how to design and deliver well architected client applications that will be easy to maintain and extend.

Topic 1: Trends and Patterns on the Client Tier
In our first topic we will take a vendor and platform neutral look at some of the trends and emerging technologies that can be used on the client tier. We will look at techniques like Mashups, technologies like Natural User Interfaces (NUI) and the increasing importance of the mobile platform. We will also look at some common patterns that can be used in the architecture of the client tier.

Topic 2: Applying Microsoft Technology on the Client Tier
In our second topic we will take some look at how we can use Microsoft technologies to create well architected and compelling client applications. We will look at technologies like Silverlight and WPF that can be used to create compelling clients. We will also look at technologies that can be used to make your applications more extensible for future development. We will also examine some architectural guidance developed by the Microsoft Patterns and Practices group.

MSDN Events Unleashed – Get Your Dev On
Internet Explorer 8 recently released to the web, and with that release comes a wide range of new capabilities that developers can exploit. Of even more impact to developers everywhere is the upcoming release of Windows 7, also bringing with it several new capabilities for consumers and developers.

Topic 1: Internet Explorer 8 for Developers
The Windows Internet Explorer 8 browser makes it easier to explore and interact with the web. Did you know that there will be a new standards mode by default? While it can easily be turned off, knowing the potential to impact this may have on many sites that have been crafted around various features in past versions is a good idea. Attend this session to learn which current practices you need to change and how the new standards mode affects your development techniques and your existing sites. We review tools that are built into Internet Explorer 8 to help developers debug and create Web pages. We also discuss Web Slices, Accelerators, and Search Suggestion – all of which are key new features in this latest release.

Topic 2: Developing on Microsoft Windows 7
Building applications that are easy to use, visually appealing, and offer high performance is a challenge that developers face every day. Innovative applications can greatly improve the user experience, empowering companies to differentiate their services and solutions. However, developers are increasingly asked to do more in less time, while also optimizing the power and performance requirements of their applications. The Windows 7 platform makes it easy for developers to create engaging, user-friendly applications by providing familiar tools and rich development features that allow them to take advantage of the latest PC capabilities. In this session we will explore the new Taskbar and Jump Lists, the Scenic Ribbon, file management with Libraries, and Windows Web Services among many other enhancements to the new operating system.

TechNet Events Unleashed – Supporting the Backbone of the Industry
Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Internet Explorer 8 represent both a wave of change and disruption to IT operations as well as an opportunity for IT professionals to have a big impact on their organizations.

Topic 1: Windows Server 2008 R2 – Optimize Your Time
Get a jump start on your peers with Windows Server 2008 R2 by joining us for this no nonsense technical session, where we will discuss the critical improvements in the next version of Windows Server. Some have argued that, given the impressive scope of new functionality in Windows Server 2008 R2, it should not be an “R2” release, but rather should be given a completely new name. They point to features such as Direct Access, Branch Caching, Live Migration, Powershell 2.0, and VDI that will help you cut down on the amount of time you spend doing mundane tasks, reduce end user frustration and support headaches, and give your mobile workforce a competitive edge through ubiquitous access to company data. There’s a good chance that by attending this session you’ll find a way to save time and money with Windows Server 2008 R2, and so you’ll get the time you spend with us back many times over.

Topic 2: Windows 7 – Maximize Your Potential
In designing Windows 7, the engineering team had a clear focus on what we call ‘the fundamentals': performance, application compatibility, device compatibility, reliability, security and battery life. Early reviews of Windows 7 seem to indicate that the choice to focus on the fundamentals is resonating well with many users and professionals. And, IT professionals will further benefit from the enhancements to manageability and security. You’ll also learn how your investments in testing and evaluating Windows Vista will pay off in the transition to Windows 7. Come see firsthand what all the buzz is about in this demo-intensive session where we explore the UI improvements, performance gains, and manageability enhancements in the next client operating system from Microsoft.

Topic 3: Internet Explorer 8 – Get Excited About the Browser Again
Internet Explorer is currently the most widely used browser in business, and while we’ve seen nice incremental improvements to IE in recent history, we haven’t seen as many truly earth shattering changes. Well, many agree that the next release of IE, Internet Explorer 8, provides the most compelling upgrade to IE in many years. In a typical day, users spend 2 hours or more per day in the browser, so significant improvements here can have tremendous impact on productivity and the way we work. The browser needs to be thought of in the same terms as an operating system—it has to be rich, robust, interoperable, easy to use and secure. Internet Explorer 8 is a browser that meets these needs and more for users, enterprises, IT professionals and developers alike. Come learn how the new improvements, too numerous to mention here, are driving many to get excited about the browser again.

As I had mentioned in a previous post, XamlFest is coming to town. This is an intense, two day in depth exploration of XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language), the markup language used to define user interfaces in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight. It will be facilitated, offering attendees a mix of instructor-led sessions as well as assisted development – that's right, you get your hands dirty in Expression and Visual Studio, designing and developing a XAML-based application. Both WPF and Silverlight will be covered.

Here's some more information to catch your interest…

Agenda
Wednesday, April 29th

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM	Introduction to WPF, XAML, Expression Blend
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM	Break
10:45 AM – 12:00 PM	Building Visually Rich Applications
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM	Lunch, Mingle, Prizes
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM	Instructor-led WPF walkthrough and assisted development
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Assisted development

Thursday, April 30th

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM	Introduction to Silverlight, Data Binding, LINQ
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM	Break
10:45 AM – 12:00 PM	Platform Centric Design Best Practices
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM	Lunch, Mingle, Prizes
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM	Instructor-led Silverlight walkthrough and assisted development
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Assisted development

Location
Microsoft Office
200 East Randolph Drive, Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 920-5600

Registration
Just like the Minneapolis event, we are tackling registration differently. It's hands-on and there is only space for 60 people, so if you would like to build some new skills around next generation user experience and design, send an email to xamlfest-chicago@live.com. And, if you end up having a conflict and can't attend, please be courteous and let us know. Space is very limited and we'd like to free up your seat to make room for others.

My colleague in the Heartland, Jeff Blankenburg, has hatched an audacious plan. What is that plan, you ask? Well, throughout April he is touring his home geography (Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee) sharing what he learned at MIX09 and culminating his tour with…

Stir Trek is a one day event on May 8, 2009 in Columbus, OH, featuring a full day of sessions across two tracks culminating with the private screening of the new Star Trek movie as the conference wraps up. For a very modest $25 registration fee, you get a full day of presentations, lunch, T-shirt, attendee bag and goodies, chances to win prizes, and, of course, the movie itself. It's an amazing, amazing deal. What's more, if you refer a friend (here's another ginsu moment from me) you get extra raffles tickets for the prizes.

But if food, prizes, and movie aren't enough, here's a quick glimpse of what you'll have the chance to learn throughout the day...

• What's New in Silverlight 3 – Tim Heuer
• .NET RIA Services: Building Data-driven Applications in ASP.NET and Silverlight – Tim Heuer
• Choosing Between ASP.NET Web Forms and MVC – Rachel Appel
• What's New in ASP.NET 4.0 – Steve Smith
• Internet Explorer 8, SuperPreview, and Web Platform Installer – Jeff Blankenburg
• Seeing Through The Clouds: Introduction to the Azure Services Platform – Brian H. Prince
• Building Microsoft Silverlight Controls – Matt Casto
• SketchFlow: From Concept To Production – Tim Hibner
• What’s New In WPF 4 – Michael Eaton
• An Overview of jQuery – Phil Japikse

I'll be there, and I hope to see you there, too!

A quick micro-post for everyone. Bill Gates announced today at the Government Leaders Forum – Americas that DreamSpark is available for university and high school students. (The third video in the playlist features Max Zuckerman interviewing Bill about DreamSpark.)

So, what's is this DreamSpark of which you mention?
Simple: it is a program that provides no-cost access to Microsoft's tools as well as training to high school (as of today) and college students. DreamSpark is supported worldwide and is designed to help students learn and develop skills in science, technology, engineering, math and design. Higher education students at the college or university level can verify their status directly and access the software straight from the site. High school students gain access to the software through their teachers, who verify their school and have access to the software, which they can then provide to students.

Cool! So what do students get?
Students get access to most of our development and design tools (Visual Studio 2008 Professional, XNA Studio, Robotics Studio, Expression Studio and more). They also get access to select server products (SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition and Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition) to help with development and testing. Training Resources are also provided (free eBooks, training videos, and more) to help students learn about Microsoft tools and technologies, as well as provide insights into product certification.

Wow! What do I do next?
This is a pretty amazing resource for students. Visit DreamSpark, learn more, and tell your high school administrators and science, math, computer, and physics teachers about it. Let's help our children learn about math, science and technology – and equip them to impact the future of all of us.

It may have snuck up on some of you, but Internet Explorer 8 released last week and is available for download. If you haven't had a chance to take a look at IE8, there are a host of great capabilities (web standards mode, improved tab browsing, improved accessibility features such as Caret Browsing, increased security such as InPrivate browsing, automatic crash recovery and performance improvements) and some compelling new features as well (visual search and search buttons, accelerators, and web slices to name a few). Review the rest of the readiness toolkit to see what else is available.

Developers and IT Professionals
Developers should review the readiness toolkit for developers. IE8's developer tools are quite useful, featuring the ability to view the HTML source in a color-coded view (like how Visual Studio does), script performance profiler, and source inspection tools and property sheet view. The navigation buttons (back and forward) honor AJAX calls now, too, so site debugging is easier. There are some pretty interesting capabilities "in the box" with IE8.

IT Professionals should review the readiness toolkit for IT professionals. It covers a wide range of management, administration, group policy and deployment features.

Learning More
If you'd like to learn more, there are heaps of resources for developers and IT professionals from videos to articles and more. Here are some virtual labs you may want to explore to learn more in a more hands-on style format.

• MSDN Virtual Lab: Building Web Slices with Internet Explorer 8
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Preparing for Internet Explorer 8 – Application Compatibility
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Using Accelerators and Web Slices in the Enterprise with Internet Explorer 8
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Creating Accelerators In Internet Explorer 8
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Internet Explorer 8 – Debugging and Application Compatibility
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Internet Explorer 8 Improved Programmability
• MSDN Virtual Lab: Using New AJAX Enhanced Layout Standards Support with Internet Explorer 8
• TechNet Virtual Lab: Preparing for Internet Explorer 8- Application Compatibility
• TechNet Virtual Lab: Using Accelerators and Web Slices in the Enterprise with Internet Explorer 8

I just heard from a colleague of mine, John O'Donnell and Architect Evangelist on our ISV Evangelism Team, about a training event happening next week for developers in the Chicago metro area and focused on Windows 7.

This is a multi-day training event and there is quite a broad range of topics being covered during this event. Here's the summary John shared with me. More event details are listed below and can be found on the registration site.

Windows 7 enables developers to build applications on a solid foundation; enable richer application experiences; and integrate the best of Windows and web services. The features and technologies of the Windows 7 operating system enable you to build the next generation of software applications. This event represents your opportunity to gain advance access to technical features and solution scenario information enabling you to build solutions on the new platforms. This is a special event organized specifically to share Microsoft's early, forward-looking plans with our closest partners and customers. You will have the opportunity to provide feedback directly with Microsoft product architects. A current Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is required for this event.

Agenda

• Graphics Improvements
• Multi Touch and Ink
• Security
• Application Instrumentation, Diagnostic and Performance Tools
• Application Compatibility Overview
• Sensor Platform and Location
• Power Management
• Background Services and Process
• New Taskbar
• Open Packaging Conventions

Event Information
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 through Friday, March 27, 2009, 9:00am to 5:00pm all three days.
Register Online

Location
Directions Training Center
2625 Butterfield Road, Suite 209E
Chicago (Oakbrook), IL 60523
(630) 575-8900

The answer is: one of nearly two dozen items in my "to be blogged" folder. Last post there was only about a dozen items in the backlog, but I digress. So, what _is_ Thrive?

Thrive is a collection of resources for IT professionals (a developer version in the works) that will help you track down about three things:

• Advance your career – resources on career development and training as well as change management
• Enhance your skills – resources focused on technical topics like virtualization and desktop optimization
• Align IT with business – resources on driving cost savings as well as compliance and guidance

But don't take my very brief blog post for it. There's a TechNet webcast covering exactly what Thrive is tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11, 2009 10:00 AM Pacific Time. Yeah, it's short notice, but I only just found out myself. I'll amend my post with the on demand link after the webcast.

Join the webcast, check out the web site, and let me know what you think about Thrive. Is it useful and helpful? What do you like? What would you change?

Update : Fixed the registration links.

I actually owe a much longer post on recent readiness (nee training) options and events for developers, architects and IT Professionals, but available time prevents me from tacking the 15 or 16 items in my "to do for blog" folder. This one event, however, warrants a more immediate shout out for two reasons. First, it's a live event as opposed to an online resource, thus timeliness matters. Second, space is limited so you'll want to register soon. The event is the Build Your Skills: Best Practices for .NET Developers Events, hosted by Jeff Brand and several of our highly talented local speakers.

Since Jeff has a full blown post with all the details, I will summarize the salient points here. And remember, space is limited (and selling out fast) so register soon!

Agenda

• The Fine Art of Profiling (Go Faster) presented by Scott Colestock
• Building Loosely Coupled Applications presented by Shannon Braun
• Exceptional Development: Dealing With Exceptions in .NET presented by Jason Bock
• Introduction to Unit Testing presented by Kirstin Juhl
• Advanced Unit Testing presented by Raymond Lewallen

St. Louis Event – Register
March 24, 2009, 9:00am to 4:30pm at the Microsoft offices in Creve Coeur.
3 City Place Drive, Suite 1100
Creve Coeur, MO 63141

Minneapolis Event – Register
March 31, 2009, 9:00am to 4:30pm at the Microsoft offices in Bloomington.
8300 Norman Center Drive, Suite 950
Bloomington, MN 55437

I've just logged into the internet at my hotel in Minneapolis. It's the first trip I've taken with Windows 7 as the OS for my main laptop, and I just discovered something very, very useful. And especially useful for the road warrior.

When I plugged in the internet and Windows 7 fetched an IP address, an information tip appeared over the network icon in the Notification Area. The tip basically said that additional steps may be required to get on the internet and suggested I open my browser. Basically the OS realized that I needed to go through the hotel's portal to authenticate access.

How incredibly helpful is that?

Capping off my mini-series on Windows 7 things I like, I was alerted to 50 seriously useful Windows 7 tips By Mike Williams over at TechRadar.com. It's a really comprehensive list organized by new applets and features, interface tweaks, useful enhancements, and performance and productivity tips.

It's a really great read, so be sure to check it out.

As I was working on various tasks today (playing with VPC images, ISO files, and a few others), I stumbled across a couple of additional features of Windows 7 that I wanted to share. These are just some quick hits, presented in no particular order.

I've had a few full business days, and part of this past weekend, to work with Windows 7 some more. Along the way I've expanded my workloads some – adding applications, playing audio (I dig the new Windows Media Player), and the like – and really got into my core workloads of PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook in more depth. Hey, I'm a manager, what did you expect? (That was for you, Joe.)

With more hands-on time, I've rather quickly gotten to my next set of top features. Thus I present for your reading pleasure, my next 5 top features.

Number 6 – Jump Lists, Part Deux
I know, I know. I covered Jump Lists in my last post. But I focused on the MRU (most recently used files) feature of applications like Notepad and Excel. I hadn't yet installed an application that implemented its own Jump List. Since then I've played around with the latest Windows Live Essentials some more, specifically Windows Live Messenger. I was pleasantly surprised to find it implements a Jump List that showcases the possibilities of optimizing an application for Windows 7.

The image to the right highlights what a developer can do when implementing a Jump Menu specific to their application. I'm intrigued about the possibilities. Rather than supporting a default MRU-style menu, like Excel or Internet Explorer, it provides quick access to Windows Live and Windows Live Messenger features. You can easily toggle your status, jump to Windows Live features like your profile or inbox, or send an instant message.

I'm imaging the possibilities for some of my other favorite applications. Think of what a screen capture utility could hook to its Jump List. Or Visual Studio Team System… I really am stoked by Jump Lists. They remain my overall #2 (you can't possibly beat fast, fast, fast), but this new discovery cements Jump Lists as an unassailable #2.

Number 7 – Search
I had a love-hate relationship with Windows Vista's integrated desktop search. Thanks to some tips and tricks from colleagues over the years I really developed a knack at running searches with quotes, plus signs, minus signs and the whole nine yards. And I came to rely on Windows Vista's search – though it frustrated me, usually by returning too many results in a big list of mixed content. So I became friends with the "show only" content filters, scoping my search to just documents or email. And 99 times out of 100 I found what I was looking for in the first five hits. I was even reasonably happy with the speed of the search results and eventually built searching the desktop into my habits (though I also still hold onto my old habits of folder and file organization, even for emails).

Windows 7 has a great search, much improved. Initially I was nervous to find that my "show only" buttons were missing. I really didn't relish the idea of everything jumbled together in a big list. But Windows 7 continues to impress, and I'm coming around. Several very nice touches make it a genuinely pleasant searching experience.

The search textbox is now more usable, with a nice drop-down that recalls previous searches as well as offers some additional filtering options. This example, searching for Jump Lists, shows the ability to filter by date modified and size. Date modified pops up a calendar control-style UI with a couple of quick filter options like "yesterday", "last week", or "a long time ago". Size similarly offers some quick filter options, like 0 KB, 1 – 10 KB, and other sizes. Nice, quick touches to help further filter my results.

Speaking of results, you get some new display modes; the image below is content view, though you also get the traditional icon views (multiple sizes), details (my usual favorite, quickly being replaced by the new content view), and the usual others. But what I really like is the highlighting in the results list. Another very nice touch. There's also a preview mode that in my very unscientific efforts seems noticeably faster to use and more friendly.

And did I mention search results seem to populate faster, too?

Number 8 – Libraries
Initially I recoiled against Libraries. They look like folders, but they feel and taste different. And that difference made me uncomfortable. I guess I'm too old and like my insane folder organization approach too much.

But I'm coming around to them. I'm realizing they are sort of like "super search" structures. By default you get four Libraries: Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos. These libraries include, by default, the public and user-specific folders for documents, music, pictures, and videos. Makes sense, right?

But they become more interesting when you create a custom library for, say, PowerPoint decks, that includes all the folders with slides in them – spanning multiple physical directories across physical drives, presenting the collection of folders as a single "Presentations" library. Now I get some much-needed sanity for my insane folder organization approach.

Give Libraries a try, a really sincere try, before you go back to the folders you're comfortable with. You may just like the layer of organization they add to the mish-mash of hard drives and attached storage devices you have orbiting your computer.

Number 9 – Network Connection and Management 
This almost made my first top 5 (and initially was at the top of my second top 5), but it continually got beat out by other features. I finally forced myself to include it here.

The entire networking experience is streamlined. When you click the network icon in the Notification Area a new new window pops up; it's basically the same as the Vista "Connect to a Network" window but it's more accessible. If a wireless connection is broadcasting in the area, you see it in the list and all you need to do is click it.

Connecting to my corporate wireless network a breeze – in just two clicks (click the network icon, click the network name) I had added the corporate wireless connection to my list. Even though my home SSID isn't broadcasting, manually adding my home network was more intuitive. Easier networking is definitely worth liking.

Number 10 – The Menu Bar
I know, it's almost a silly feature to tout as a top 10 feature. But it's the little things that reduce clicks and increase productivity that make me happy. The menu bar is more context aware, with a Preview button changing options based on the file type selected.

In my running Jump List search example from #7, I have a JPEG selected (the Windows Live Messenger Jump List image from #6). The Preview button knows it's a JPEG and offers you quicker access to the five installed programs that understand the format, and also offers the ability to choose the default program for it. The other buttons (Save Search, Burn, View, etc.) are all carried forward from Windows Vista, with the Preview Pane button surfaced onto the menu itself (much better than being hidden on a menu cascading off the Organize menu). I toggle preview on and off a lot, leaving it off most of the time.

Other folder types offer similar nice features surfaces to the menu bar. In Libraries and folders, you get the option to "Share With", a drop down that quickly allows you to create (or remove) a network share for the folder or Library in question. In regular folders, you can quickly access "Include in library" to add that folder to an existing Library or to create a new Library containing that folder. Plus you still get the nice context aware button to open or act on files, create new folders when nothing is selected, and so forth. Explorer is more usable now… and so is Windows.

That's it… for now!
I'm five days into using Windows 7, and I find myself pretty excited (and I wasn't even one of the people standing in line for Windows 95 back in the day). Sure, I've run into – and filed – a few bugs, but overall Windows 7 is pretty polished for a beta. It's fast, hasn't really cratered to speak of, and pretty stable. And the little touches are really adding up to be something nice. I may take another run at more top features post in the coming days as I uncover more nice things that make me happy about my OS.