Win 7 trick

Windows 7 is to Windows Vista as Windows XP is to Windows Me

In simple terms, 7 smoothes out the bumps of its predecessor, and it has the potential to be Microsoft’s new “keeper” version of Windows, a laurel earned only by Windows XP and, to an extent, Windows 2000. Although we think Vista is still somewhat unfairly maligned because of its early troubles with drivers and hardware support, Windows 7 has already bested Vista in that regard. In our experiences with the beta, Release Candidate (RC), and Release to Manufacturing (RTM) versions, hardware support was largely transparent across a variety of desktops and laptops. (In fairness to Vista, that’s because Windows 7 works partly off the compatibility infrastructure Vista has painstakingly built since 2007.)

On the surface, Windows 7 may not seem a radical departure from Vista. The most obvious changes are a redesigned and rethought taskbar, the suppression of Vista’s default Windows Sidebar, a much more conservative (and tweakable) User Account Control warning scheme (the bane of Vista, for many), and a much slicker, graphical Devices and Printers panel for configuring your hardware. But Microsoft incorporated a tremendous number of subtle improvements and under-the-hood tweaks. None is jaw-dropping by itself, but the critical mass of all these smart changes adds up to an OS that feels more polished, tighter, and more mature than any Windows that has come before.

In our Windows 7 journey, we’ve been keeping a running list of the shortcuts, tips, “ah-ha!” moments, and lesser-known features we’ve run across. Some have been well-documented elsewhere; some you’ll find new. But all are worth checking out as you wind your way through the new Windows, or even if you’re just considering making the leap. (And if you’re on the fence and running Vista, check out our detailed step-by-step guide to dual-booting Vista and 7. You don’t have to drop Vista until you’re good and ready.) Either way, these tips will help you get your money’s worth in saved time and efficiency.

(Editors' Note: Sarah E. Anderson, Jonathan Rougeot, and Matt Safford also contributed to this guide.)