Windows 7 has tons of shortcuts built in. One really nifty one is "Jump Lists." Jump Lists bring up lists of frequently used functions within a Taskbar item.

For example, let's say you've "pinned" Windows Media Player to your Taskbar (here's how to pin items). Instead of rooting around your hard drive, looking for the last album you were playing, simply right-click on the Windows Media Player icon and a list will appear of your most recent activities (shown at top). Left-click on the item you want.

In my case, I simply click on the top icon and my favorite Internet jazz station (the icon "wbgo_8000.asx") is loaded. No more visiting the website, clicking on the "Listen Live" link, and waiting for the station to load. Jump Lists can be big time-savers.

(By the way, the website is www.wbgo.org. If you like classic jazz, this is a great station. Lots of Miles, Dizzy, Bird, Monk, Brubeck, etc. I'm addicted to it.)

Mary Landesman, About.com's Guide to antivirus software, blogs about the incredibly dumb decision by Apple to make Windows 7 less secure by reimplementing a feature called autorun within iTunes. Autorun allows viruses to spread quickly over a network. Mary quite properly cautions anyone using Windows 7 to keep iTunes off their computer.

Come on Apple, change this immediately. You're constantly touting Mac's superiority over Windows in the security department -- yet you implement a change in Windows 7 that makes it less secure! Can you say hypocrisy?

Antivirus vendor Sophos writes in a blog entry that Windows 7 was vulnerable to eight out of 10 viruses it downloaded onto a computer.

The blogger's conclusion?

"Lesson learned? You still need to run anti-virus on Windows 7.

That's good advice. Although Windows 7 does come with Windows Firewall turned on by default, and User Account Control is set to a reasonable level, it's not enough in today's connected environment.

Microsoft, in its blog response to the findings, disagreed with some of Sophos' testing, and defended Windows 7's security:

"Windows 7 retains and refines the development processes, including going through the Security Development Lifecycle, and technologies that made Windows Vista the most secure Windows operating system ever released."

I think both companies make good points. The key thing to remember here is to use antivirus software on any version of Windows.

More good advice: bookmark About.com's antivirus site. Guide Mary Landesman is a true expert in this field, and will help you keep your computer safe from the bad guys.

If you're the type that likes to keep up with news on Windows 7 (my hand raised high in the air!), there's nothing like going directly to the source: Microsoft.

Fortunately, Microsoft is a very open company (yes, it's true) when it comes to releasing information on blogs. If you want to hear it from the horse's mouth, check out Microsoft's Windows 7 Team Blog. It's frequently updated, and has all kinds of interesting tidbits on various pieces of Windows 7, including what's coming in the near, and far, future.

Bookmark it if you want to follow it every day.

My mom asked me a question about Windows 7 the other day, and I imagine many folks are asking the same question, so I thought I'd reprint my answer.

She has a friend who's buying a new computer, and is wondering about whether or not to buy one with Windows 7 preinstalled. It's a legitimate question, since there are often problems with brand-new programs, especially something as complex as an operating system. And Microsoft has a reputation, deserved or not (in my opinion, partially deserved), for turning out buggy Version 1 software.  Here's what I told mom:

"Tell your friend that Windows 7 is a very good operating system. Even though it's only been out a couple of weeks, it's stable and easy to use. There's no need for her to fear about problems with it. It's better than the previous operating system, Windows Vista. In my opinion, she can order it with complete confidence."

I would offer you the same advice. Yes, there are some kinks that will have to be worked out. But buying  a new computer with Windows 7 on it is an easy choice. It works very well.

Not surprisingly, Windows 7 sales are ahead of the pace of the much-maligned Windows Vista operating system, according to a story from CNET.com.

A number of sources, including a firm that tracks computer-industry sales, and another that follows operating system usage across the Internet, are both reporting that Windows 7 is significantly ahead of where Vista was after a little more than a week of availability, the story says.

Undoubtedly, Windows 7's very strong reviews are helping those sales. Vista, by contrast, was plagued with problems upon its release, and never captured the hearts of PC users the way that Windows XP did. It's a great start for Windows 7, and may signal that Microsoft has regained the trust of those who felt burned by Vista.

I had a question from a lawyer I met at an airport yesterday. I told him I was the new Windows Guide, and was writing a lot about Windows 7. He was thinking about moving to that operating system (OS), and wanted to know whether or not to go with a 32-bit edition or 64-bit edition (About.com's Mark Kyrnin has a good breakdown on 32-bit vs. 64-bit computing).

I asked this guy about how he uses his computer, and he mentioned that he's a big gamer. That was a key piece of information, and I told him to definitely go with a 64-bit computer for his new one. That's because you can use so much more RAM, and Windows 7 takes good advantage of it. Without getting technical, more RAM means better performance for your OS and applications -- including games.

In addition, your computer won't get outdated quite as quickly. More computers being made now are 64-bit, and we're seeing more and more programs developed to take advantage of 64-bit speed. It shouldn't cost much more either. So my recommendation would be to go 64-bit, which will come pre-loaded with 64-bit Windows 7. Happy gaming!

I upgraded my computer to Windows 7, from Windows Vista, over the weekend. I probably shouldn't say "upgraded," however; what I did was a "clean install."

A clean install is when a computer's hard drive is erased, and a new operating system (in this case, Windows 7) is installed. It requires a lot more work -- data has to be backed up, applications have to be re-installed, and so on.

For me, though, the rewards of a clean install are worth it. Operating systems that have been installed clean tend to have fewer long-term problems and be more stable than those that have been upgraded in place -- meaning the new operating system is installed over top of the old one, then erases the old one.

Remember, though, that this is a generalization. Many folks have upgraded older operating systems to new ones with few, or no, problems. And early returns indicate that doing an in-place upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 works well in most cases (there have been reports that some folks are having big problems, but they are mostly isolated, and not something worldwide.)

However you upgrade -- either with a clean install or an in-place upgrade -- remember to always, ALWAYS, back up your data first. In my case I backed it up to two different places -- an external hard drive and a USB (also called a thumb) drive. I can't emphasize that enough.

Information Week has a story that claims Windows 7's battery life is improved over Windows Vista -- and by a substantial amount.

The article says that Microsoft worked closely with chip maker Intel during the development of Windows 7, and found numerous ways to save power. An Intel executive says that a Windows 7 laptop uses about 20 percent less power over the exact same laptop running Vista, which could translate to an hour or more of additional battery life.

Those numbers, if true, represent a significant boost in potential productivity for business travelers and others without regular access to power outlets; they're also another reason to strongly consider upgrading to Windows 7.

Today's tip actually comes to you via Tim Fisher, About.com's Guide to PC Support. Tim's done an incredibly thorough step-by-step walkthrough of a Windows 7 installation.

I don't think you'll find a more comprehensive guide to installation anywhere. Tim tells you where the "gotchas" are, and gives great advice throughout. It's well worth a look if you've bought a copy of Windows 7 and are getting sweaty palms at the thought of blowing away your old operating system and putting the new one in.

Great job, Tim!