Top 7 Ways to Enhance Your Windows 7 Experience

Microsoft sends along some interesting information today about Windows 7:

Top 7 Things to Do After Installing Windows 7

Personalize your PC: Make your Windows 7 PC your own by pinning your favorite programs to the enhanced Windows Taskbar, to easily preview and switch between Windows. Then, customize your desktop with one of the many new themes available in Windows 7 (or easily download a new one that suits your personality), and drag your favorite gadgets where you want them on your desktop.

Download Windows Live Essentials – the killer apps for Windows 7: Once you have Windows 7 installed, go to download.live.com to download free programs for email, IM, movie-making, photos and more!

Organize your multiple email accounts in one place: Organize your multiple email accounts using Window Live Mail (including Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail Plus and Gmail) so you can receive email in one place, organized into separate folders. You can even add RSS feeds to stay up on your favorite sites and blogs.

Import and organize your photos: Your new operating system is a great excuse to finally organize the thousands of digital photos you’ve accumulated over the years. Windows Live Photo Gallery allows you to sort your photos easily by tags, folders or dates, then clean them up with easy editing features, including auto-fix, sharpen image, panoramic stitch, and more.

Make a movie in less than five minutes: Now that you have your favorite photo and video memories on your Windows 7 PC, make them into movies and slideshows that you can share on the web (including easy publishing to YouTube and Facebook) or burn onto a DVD in high definition (if your camera supports it). Windows Live Movie Maker features the simple-to-navigate Windows 7 ribbon, and time-saving features like AutoMovie that automatically turn your photos, videos and music into an impressive movie – complete with titles and transitions.

Snap to it! Need to compare two documents side-by-side? Snap, a new feature in Windows 7, is a quick (and fun) way to increase your productivity. Snap allows you to resize open windows simply by dragging them to the edges of your screen – left or right. Then, the window will expand vertically and fill the screen, so you can easily position windows side-by-side.

Shake away the clutter: Need to cut through a crowded desktop and quickly focus on a single window? With Windows 7, you can click a pane and give your mouse a shake. Voila! Every window except that one disappears. Jiggle again, and your Windows are back.

Discuss this Article 21

Ocean
on Nov 18, 2009
Cool list...except I *like* the Gmail interface and I have my tasks list tied to it.
Ozric
on Nov 18, 2009
Surely that only "6" things?!
anonymous
on Nov 18, 2009
This post was mentioned on Twitter by thurrott: Top 7 Ways to Enhance Your Windows 7 Experience: Microsoft sends along some interesting information today about.. http://bit.ly/1S72Bw
rjohn05
on Nov 18, 2009
Microsoft can't count
EricoF3
on Nov 18, 2009
Ocean said: "Cool list...except I *like* the Gmail interface and I have my tasks list tied to it." If you like Gmail ... use Google Chrome OS rather than Windows 7 ... Ho! It is not release yet ... Ho! To bad for you....
EricoF3
on Nov 18, 2009
Ozric said: "Surely that only "6" things?!" Hee... Nop! The first one has no title and it is included in Paul's introduction...
EricoF3
on Nov 18, 2009
@Paul: Personnally I would add an other way: 8. Using Object Desktop as a Application Launcher... A must!! :)
Logjamming
on Nov 18, 2009
Download Windows Live Essentials - They come pre-installed on your Mac Organize your multiple email accounts in one place: Organize - Your Mac has been doing that for some five years Import and organize your photos: Your - Your Mac has been doing that for some seven years. Make a movie in less than five minutes - Your Mac has been doing that for some ten years Snap to it - Your Mac has been doing that for some four years, and more intuitively as well. What if I want to drag a window to the side of the screen, but I don't want it to snap? This is Microsoft poor implementation of non functional eye-candy. Vista revisited. Shake away the clutter - Your Mac has been doing that for some four years. In fact, on your Mac you don't need to work on a single windows. You can create up to 16 separate windows, called spaces. So you have a space for text documents, a space for email, a space for photos: you decide what goes into a space. My god, you guys are pathetic. Microsoft really is a one-eyed king, if there so many blind ignorant Windows users who are happy with what OSX users have been using for years.
EricoF3
on Nov 18, 2009
@ Logjamming: Yes! An Mac own only 3.5% of the PC market... Its seems the problem is elsewhere, isn't it Logjamming?? Apple had always done anything for some 10 years, but they always sell 3.5% of the PC market... Found the problem... lol
EricoF3
on Nov 18, 2009
@Logjamming: I mean, in my mind, If an OS is only used by 3.5% of the PC market it is certainly not because its maker are doing what people needs...
Ocean
on Nov 18, 2009
"3.5% of the PC market... " ...but 30% of the profit. Why do Windows PC's have to be so cheap to get people to buy them?
derekpress
on Nov 18, 2009
Not a very good list. Typo in "Window Live Mail" and they shouldn't be selling their OS to be an "excuse" to organize your stuff. I like Win7 a lot but other than Essentials and Aero gimmicks there's not much in that list that they haven't been saying since XP was launched. MS should be pimping Media Center, Zune software, new taskbar, speed, and efficiency. Not Aero Shake.
rr0de74@live.com
on Nov 18, 2009
This.... "If you like Gmail ... use Google Chrome OS rather than Windows 7 ... Ho! It is not release yet ... Ho! To bad for you.... " Hurts my head to read....Ho! To bad for me...Ho! Market share numbers are so meaningless. Lets talk share price, market cap, CASH ON HAND.
roteague
on Nov 18, 2009
Not my Mac ... I don't need any doorstops, thank you.
sttevo
on Nov 19, 2009
Why does every thread turn into PC vs Mac on this site? I could think of much better ways of spending my time than trolling tech blogs Logjamming and friends. Thanks for the personalization gallery link Paul. I might customize my desktop for something a little different.
lotsamystuff
on Nov 19, 2009
"meanwhile the Windows guys won't be paying a dime for the new versions of Windows Live essentials like Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, etc." I guess they know what their stuff's worth.
Waethorn
on Nov 19, 2009
"Market share numbers are so meaningless. Lets talk share price, market cap, CASH ON HAND." Let's talk about cost to the consumer.
EricoF3
on Nov 19, 2009
Ocean said: "3.5% of the PC market... " "...but 30% of the profit. Why do Windows PC's have to be so cheap to get people to buy them?" For exactly the same reason Apple only sell 3.5% of PCs... And, in computer world it is better to have volume than to sell 3.5% of the market... This is a matter choice... Apple choose to sell only 3.5% of the market by selling High grade hardware and low grade OS ... But microsoft choose to run on low grade machine with their High grade OS ... This is a matter of choice ... The same thing in car world, Lamborgini know they won't sell as much car then Ford... The only difference is Lamborgini don't try to do competition to Ford even if the both are in the car market, Which Apple does not seems to understand ... Apple qualify himself as a High grade PC maker but they always compete with *supposdly* low grade makers... THis is a non sens... This is what tell me that Apple is not really a High grade make... Only a wanna be High grade maker... They try to justify their absurd high price by telling people they sell only High grade stuff... Which is not true...
chuckb84
on Nov 19, 2009
"Apple choose to sell only 3.5% of the market by selling High grade hardware and low grade OS" Yes, the low grade OS that Microsoft copies, with the new taskbar and these 7 "enhancements" that have been standard on every Mac for years.
MacLawyer
on Nov 19, 2009
Great article, Paul. Lots of good stuff to download and try out.
EricoF3
on Nov 19, 2009
@chuckb84: Baaaaaa... Please be serious ... Microsoft did not copy anything... An even so ... where is the problem? It is like if you tell me that car maker should not put wheels on their cars because the don't invent the wheel concept... It is just stupid...

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