Cool things discovered in Windows 7 (6801)

[Brandon Live Veteran]

why not? it was nice to be able to change song quickly without opening WMP

though I have to admit with all the keyboards having shortcuts for WMP it's not as useful as it used to be

But you can do that just by hovering on the WMP icon now. The thumbnail has the playback controls and media info.

[Examinus]

But you can do that just by hovering on the WMP icon now. The thumbnail has the playback controls and media info.

But it lacks a seek bar and the ability to watch videos in a teeny tiny box.

The seek bar is a must, especially because very few (if any) laptops have media keys that can replace it. Put it back!

[Calum Veteran]

But it lacks a seek bar and the ability to watch videos in a teeny tiny box.

The seek bar is a must, especially because very few (if any) laptops have media keys that can replace it. Put it back!

I agree with this too, Brandon. While much better than the Windows Media Player toolbar, this thumbnail should have a seek bar on it (& maybe even an option to modify the track's rating) like some of the iTunes gadgets currently do. I will be switching back to using Windows Media Player when I have the new Windows 7 (as my iTunes AAC files should work with this, right?), so it would be nice to have this feature replace my current gadgets - i.e. much better than my current gadget, but with the seek bar & video playback ability (the video playback ability is in the Vista thumbnails, so maybe this just hasn't been polished in Windows 7 yet?).

Thanks :)

[Mayhem]

But it lacks a seek bar and the ability to watch videos in a teeny tiny box.

The seek bar is a must, especially because very few (if any) laptops have media keys that can replace it. Put it back!

i agree, i find myself using alot of the seek bar and seeing the videos like that

also i use alot of the next/back buttons on the WMP11 taskbar, while we have it currently on the new WMP12 thumbnails i find it a bit slow to show the thumbnail

is there any tweak for speeding the thumbnails ?

[Denis W. Veteran]

is there any tweak for speeding the thumbnails ?

I could be wrong, but if the delay for the thumbnails was shortened, you won't get that cool scaling effect of the thumbnails when you scrub the superbar's active taskbuttons.

[KevinN206]

Does the Security Tab appear if you select multiple files? This feature was quite useful in Windows XP, but it was removed in Vista. I wonder what was the rational for this omission?

[Panda X]

I could be wrong, but if the delay for the thumbnails was shortened, you won't get that cool scaling effect of the thumbnails when you scrub the superbar's active taskbuttons.

He means when you first hover it takes about a whole second until the thumbnail pops up.

[tN0]

I think they should add a seek bar to the thumbnail and create a cool and usefull Media Player Gadget for those who want to watch videos in a tiny window. Thats what the Gadgets are about. MS should keep the new Taskbar clean.

[Ambroos]

He means when you first hover it takes about a whole second until the thumbnail pops up.

Yep. The initial waittime is too long for me.

[JOHW]

Heads Up!: Microsoft Patch Tuesday has a patch for Windows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958456

This article introduces an update to improve the reliability and operation of an external NTFS drive. After you install this update, you may have to restart your computer. This update is provided and licensed to you under the Windows 7 Pre-Release License Terms.

[Quillz]

I wonder if they will release a patch to fix the readability of the Cambria font.

[George P Global Moderator]

Can they work on the patch system itself more please!?!?!?!? We shouldn't have to restart for updates unless they're very low level kernel ones imo.

[Quillz]

Can they work on the patch system itself more please!?!?!?!? We shouldn't have to restart for updates unless they're very low level kernel ones imo.

...And we don't. The reason you have to restart security updates is because they physically alter files within the kernel, as do things like definition updates, service packs, etc. But when Windows Updates calls for minor updates, you don't have to restart. This is how it works even in Mac OS X. You have to restart when there is a QuickTime update, for example, as it affects files within its kernel.

[Examinus]

I agree with this too, Brandon. While much better than the Windows Media Player toolbar, this thumbnail should have a seek bar on it (& maybe even an option to modify the track's rating) like some of the iTunes gadgets currently do. I will be switching back to using Windows Media Player when I have the new Windows 7 (as my iTunes AAC files should work with this, right?), so it would be nice to have this feature replace my current gadgets - i.e. much better than my current gadget, but with the seek bar & video playback ability (the video playback ability is in the Vista thumbnails, so maybe this just hasn't been polished in Windows 7 yet?).

Thanks :)

i agree, i find myself using alot of the seek bar and seeing the videos like that

also i use alot of the next/back buttons on the WMP11 taskbar, while we have it currently on the new WMP12 thumbnails i find it a bit slow to show the thumbnail

is there any tweak for speeding the thumbnails ?

I will personally send ?5 to whoever at Microsoft puts these things back. Five whole pounds sterling. Yeah!

[JOHW]

I will personally send ?5 to whoever at Microsoft puts these things back. Five whole pounds sterling. Yeah!

Yah, I liked the WMP toolbar, butI never really used it because WMP doesn't really work as nicely or smoothly as I wished it could (eg. Winamp, Foobar)

[George P Global Moderator]

...And we don't. The reason you have to restart security updates is because they physically alter files within the kernel, as do things like definition updates, service packs, etc. But when Windows Updates calls for minor updates, you don't have to restart. This is how it works even in Mac OS X. You have to restart when there is a QuickTime update, for example, as it affects files within its kernel.

I don't think all of the critical security updates mess with kernel files though. Like if you're patching a running service which is outside of kernel space already, you shouldn't have to restart. I dunno, hot-patching works if you do it right.

[username81]

Sorry guys but anyone know if multitouch function is enabled in windows 7 build 6801 with blue badge??

[Brandon Live Veteran]

But it lacks a seek bar and the ability to watch videos in a teeny tiny box.

The seek bar is a must, especially because very few (if any) laptops have media keys that can replace it. Put it back!

Unfortunately I'm not sure a seek bar is possible with the current taskbar APIs (which basically just let you add buttons). But I'll pass this bit of feedback along to the appropriate teams (both taskbar and WMP).

[djDaemon]

Unfortunately I'm not sure a seek bar is possible with the current taskbar APIs (which basically just let you add buttons). But I'll pass this bit of feedback along to the appropriate teams (both taskbar and WMP).

Would a skip-ahead button work? Perhaps one that is customizable, such as that found in GOM Player, for example, where you can choose the skip-ahead length at 5, 10, etc. seconds.

[Examinus]

Unfortunately I'm not sure a seek bar is possible with the current taskbar APIs (which basically just let you add buttons). But I'll pass this bit of feedback along to the appropriate teams (both taskbar and WMP).

That's brilliant - thanks!

[notuptome2004]

Sorry guys but anyone know if multitouch function is enabled in windows 7 build 6801 with blue badge??

well i think by default multi-touch stuff is enabled but i could be wrong but if not evan if you did unlock them ya need a multi-touch based display in order to use multi-touch

[Calum Veteran]

But I'll pass this bit of feedback along to the appropriate teams (both taskbar and WMP).

Thank you Brandon :)

It would be brilliant if it was possible.

[soumyasch]

I guess this one is a request for Brandon :)

Sometimes certain window titles can be used as a non-intrusive notification tool. For example, keeping a browser window open with cricinfo.com running to check scores at a glance while doing other stuff. This thing is very hard to do with the new taskbar design (the windo titles aren't shown on the taskbar, and the thumbnails are visible only on mouse-overs). Can something be done for this? Something like dragging a window to the side of the screen (which "pins" the gadgets) will minimize the window into that area with a old-taskbar like icon? Or at least a way to make the window thumbnails "pinned" (so that they do not disappear on mouse leave). When in pinned state, it can be transparent to mouse-clicks as well as become semi-transparent in appearance so as to show whats beneath it.

[Quillz]

I guess this one is a request for Brandon :)

Sometimes certain window titles can be used as a non-intrusive notification tool. For example, keeping a browser window open with cricinfo.com running to check scores at a glance while doing other stuff. This thing is very hard to do with the new taskbar design (the windo titles aren't shown on the taskbar, and the thumbnails are visible only on mouse-overs). Can something be done for this? Something like dragging a window to the side of the screen (which "pins" the gadgets) will minimize the window into that area with a old-taskbar like icon? Or at least a way to make the window thumbnails "pinned" (so that they do not disappear on mouse leave). When in pinned state, it can be transparent to mouse-clicks as well as become semi-transparent in appearance so as to show whats beneath it.

You can manually add text labels to the taskbar buttons.

[Ambroos]

Sorry guys but anyone know if multitouch function is enabled in windows 7 build 6801 with blue badge??

Might be, but what can you do with it? There aren't any apps supporting it yet.