Windows 7 tips, tricks and secrets

 

50 seriously useful Windows 7 tips, tricks and secrets | News | TechRadar UK

Windows 7 RC: After 2 weeks

Well, I have been running Windows 7 RC for 2 weeks now on my main production machine.  Overall, it is very good: fast, pretty stable, and the new features are good. 

I especially like the new taskbar.  Reading the descriptions of it before I installed Win7, I was a little leery that it was better, that it was just different to be different.  But after working with it, it really is better.  I was worried that it would be confusing having both the "quick links" and taskbar together, but it really is not a problem; the active apps have an "aero" frame around them, and the unlaunched buttons do not.  I like the aero preview windows that popup when you hover the mouse over the button, but especially like when you hover the mouse over the preview window, the rest of the windows go "aero ghost" mode, so that window is the only one visible.

Problems so far are few, but here's what I have:

*  My Bluetooth mouse (MS Mouse Presenter 8000) frequently disconnects.  Sometimes it will reconnect in about 15 seconds or so, but most of the time I have to power cycle the mouse.  Hope a fix or updated mouse driver fixes that soon.

*  Windows Live Photo Gallery screensaver crashes and locks up.  I can get back by hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del, then Cancel and the system window then pops up about an unresponsive application.  So far, that is only screensaver that has a problem.

*  My Sierra Wireless AirCard 875U cellular modem needs to use the old Sierra 3GWatcher app, and Win7 does not "recognize" the network.  It works, and I connect OK, it is just that Network Center says it is "Unidentified Network", and I cannot properly set firewall options (public/private) or name.  I understand Win7 has newer drivers that treat cell modems like full fledged network adapters (like WiFi adapters), but not for my old(er) device.

And one changed item I am not completely sold on yet: taking out the Sidebar frame.  Sidebar gadgets are now undocked and floating (like you could in Vista if you dragged it from the frame).  But I liked how the Sidebar frame gave me "pages" for gadgets, and I could have a dozen or so gadgets ready when needed, but not cluttering up the desktop.  But now, floating gadgets are the only option.

New version ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit

New version (3.0.30512) ASP.Net Ajax Control toolkit.  Added 3 new controls, including an HTMLEditor and ComboBox (windows-like, dropdownlist and textbox). Also 20 bugfixes to existing controls.

ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit

Note that these controls work only with VS 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5.

Thanks to @shanselman who twittered this announcement.

WM 6.1 Hot Fix for Sending SMTP E-mail

 

MS KB958639 Download details: WM 6.1 Hot Fix for Sending POP and IMAP E-mail

I was having a problem with Gmail apps on my WinMobile device, where I could not send email.  The only way around it was to delete and recreate the account.  Turns out it is a bug in WM 6.1, and this fixes the problem.