Bettering Windows 7…

 

Windows 7, good not great, by no means perfect but a hell of a lot better than Vista. And if like many your upgrading from Vista the change is appreciated but not too significant that your lost, but if your  coming from XP you can get a little lost in all of 7’s shiny new features. Here are a few ways to improve 7’s looks, features, and functions leading to a more convenient upgrade.

1. Ninite..

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again, Ninite, use it, love it, appreciate the time you save. Moving on.

2. Gmail in Your Taskbar..

If Gmail is your priority mail, Gmail Notifier Plus not only subtly informs of you of new mail by changing its taskbar icon, but provides a subject line preview of new messages when you hover over its icon. Giving you shortcuts to writing new messages, opening your inbox, the perfect little tool to keep you on top of your incoming mail.

3. Bored of your Logon screen?

You can customize a lot of your system's look in Windows 7, but the login/password screen remains fairly opaque and unchangeable. Tweaks.com offers a Logon Changer for Windows 7. Simple effective and all without the hassle of going into your registry. One catch: images have to 256kb or less.

4. Creating a Recovery Disc..

If you'd like to ensure you can save your system from common boot-up and system errors in the future, NeoSmart offers its own Windows 7 System Recovery Discs that can repair damaged files, restore System Restore points, and even pull in full backups for restoration. If you upgraded to 7 from a student discount package that only delivered a single .exe file, Download Squad explains how to make a DVD upgrade disc from student discount files.

5. Stacking your Desktop..

The taskbar in 7 is fantastic, Microsoft out did themselves, but its missing on thing. “Stacks”. But fear not, one quick download later with either StandaloneStack or 7stacks and you can start getting right to the file after you’ve added a custom collection of shortcuts. Scouring for files is a thing of the past.

Bonus..

For those of you that don’t know, press Alt + Tab and you can switch between any open window on your desktop, not a tweak but in every way a helpful hint when using 7 especially if like me, you have a million and  one different programs running.