windows 7 wednesdays – 60 tips in 60 minutes part 4
31. task manager improvements
the new task manager in windows 7 is great. from the description of processes (what’s fpmagent.exe you might ask in the past? no more with the description column!)
to the go to service(s) feature
when you highlight a process (in this example svchost.exe running as local service) you’ll see the services related to the processes highlighted
you can still open task manager from the control + alt + delete options, but you can also use ctrl + shift + esc to access it.
32. clock/additional time zones
click on the time and date in the lower right hand corner – change date and time settings…
you can have up to two additional clocks in different time zones (and assign them a display name)
then when you hover over the time in the lower right, you see the one or two extra time zones displayed
click on the clock and the additional time zone is displayed
33. improvements to user account control
more than just on or off are now available in windows 7!
there are also group policy security settings to further control it’s behavior.
finally, windows 7 brings back the shift + right click run as different user option and includes switch user functionality even in a domain (just like windows vista did)
34. windows troubleshooting platform
on one of my computers the recording audio troubleshooting wizard has been a great troubleshooter for my built in microphone (computer keeps holding either the usb or headset microphone as the default instead of switching back to the built in microphone when a usb or headset is not attached).
35. homegroup
want to share files or print at home? setup a home group!
36. media center
included in all versions of windows 7 above home premium – this means i can run media center and watch recorded tv when i’m traveling
37. device stage
pc magazine, winsupersite and the windows team blog have given various examples of the use of device stage.
38. play to
great feature enabling windows media player to play to various devices (in my case a xbox 360 hooked up to the speakers around the house)
39. performance information and tools
the solid state drive (ssd) in my lenovo x300 shows the upper limit of the windows experience index (was a scale of 1.0 to 5.9 on windows vista – now it’s 1.0 to 7.9). a newer ssd i tested was rated above a 7!
40. different versions
home premium, professional, enterprise and ultimate – more on this when we get to tip #60 (two more weeks!)