The Dock may not be perfect, but with the new Exposé in Snow Leopard, I think it is quite better than the task bar. And even while both are clumsy, I don't think paying $15 for uBar—which is 32-bits, and crashes badly in Mac OS X 10.6—is the solution. However, if you are into bondage, domination, sadomasochism, and the whole "Start" menu thingie, this is your funeral, kiddos. [Brawersoft]

1. First, right-click on the taskbar and turn off "Lock the Taskbar."
2. Right-click the taskbar, hover over Toolbars, and select New Toolbar.
3. When it asks you to select a folder, enter this string: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
4. Find Quick Launch (it may be on the right side of the taskbar), right-click the divider and disable "Show Text" and "Show Title." Make sure "Small Icons" is enabled.
5. Drag the divider to rearrange Quick Launch on your taskbar (using left-click).
6. Right-click and lock your toolbar again.

You're welcome. I love you too. [MaximumPC]

View our other Windows 7 tips and our continuing coverage here.

When you connect a supported gadget, like in this case the Epson Artisan 800, you instantly see the icon with its shiny black case and colorful printout. There was no download, this stuff was already cached somewhere. The icon at first had a yellow alert badge, but after a quick troubleshoot wizard, the badge changed to a happy green check mark.

There are three components of Device Stage: An icon in Devices and Printers, an XML page with links to services and apps, and an icon in the taskbar with a nice tidy pop-up menu of device options.

The icon in the Devices and Printers page, which you can easily reach from the the Start Menu. If you can't find your device anywhere else, it will at least be here. If your gadget is not plugged in, its icon is slightly translucent. If it is, you see a clear shiny device. Click on the icon once, and a contextual ribbon at the top of the window changes to give you device specific options. (For the Epson all-in-one, it was "Start scan" "See what's printing" "Manage default printers" etc. For a mass storage device, it's "Browse Files" and "Safely Remove.")

Double-clicking the icon in the Devices page brings up the services page, essentially a webpage that lives in your computer, and can launch both websites and apps. The look and feel is developed by the device manufacturer, though I'm sure there's a nice Microsoft template if needed. As you can see from both its contents and the following, cool taskbar icon, this page is the sort of thing that would probably used most when the gadget is first bought, and forgotten about later.

The taskbar icon is the ooh-aah part of Device Stage. Right click it (or click and swipe upwards) and you get a series of "Tasks"—essentially a summarized version of what the big XML page offers, with some more specific commands too. Printers are pretty obvious, but it will be really fun to see what people can do with cameras and phones, not to mention totally specialized devices like a Slacker portable radio or a Chumby.

Speaking of Chumby, devices don't need to connect via USB. They can connect via the network or Bluetooth, and are given the same rich metadata treatment.

I did notice one thing in particular that probably won't be "fixed" in the final release: Even though the Epson menu offered all of the Artisan 800's functionality, some of the functions brought up error messages like the one you see below. I didn't run the install disc, and I am assuming that the .EXE apps that the launcher couldn't find were ones I needed to install from the Epson's CD. This makes sense: The richer the experience offered by the device manufacturer, the more likely it is that they will try to make you install more of their software. It's too bad that, as far as I know, you can't customize these jump lists, though, because I would love to see a pop up that only had the crap I care about.

Up top, I made a gripe about products only working if they're supported. If they're not supported, they get generic icons and you see the old AutoPlay pop-up from Windows systems past. In other words, it sucks—like this—when they're not supported:

Don't get me wrong. This isn't a complaint about how few gadgets are currently supported by Windows 7 Beta. The list is here, and it's small, but you know damn well it's going to get longer and longer and longer, every week if not every day.

What I am saying is that I have mixed feelings about what Device Stage will mean to consumer electronics companies. One one hand, companies would do well to stop messing around with their own silly proprietary crapware for say, alerting me when I need printer ink, or downloading the photos from my camera. The Device Stage interface, as you can see below, is an elegant way to facilitate those kinds of menial tasks.

On the other hand, though, I hate for this to become some kind of gear mafia. Back in the day, PlaysForSure's website listed a bunch of compatible music players, but it didn't list all of them. People going to the site would have been swayed to buy officially supported hardware, even if it wasn't the best. I am sure in this case that Microsoft will upload all of the content of all those who participate, but I would hate for people to be choosing devices just because of their ability to talk to Windows 7—an inferior printer, say, having a better Win 7 interface than a superior model.

The ideal solution is for all makers of decent gadgets pay some dude $50 to write the stupid XML code for it to appear in Device Stage—I'm told it's ridiculously simple to submit data. Then it would be a given that a hot new device will just show up. But will there be awesome gadgets that—because of inattentiveness on the part of their makers—end up looking like ass in Windows 7? The chances are good. [More Windows 7 at Gizmodo]

UPDATE: I received the Device Stage package for the Nikon D90 (what Steve Ballmer used to demo Device Stage at CES). Here's a gallery of screenshots from that, showing similar functionality. I did have some trouble getting it to load the user's manual, but that is probably something that can be fixed before the official Win 7 launch.

To automatically read the most recent Windows 7 posts, hit this tag (and bookmark it).

Windows 7 Beta Installation Advice
(Note: The beta is available until February 10th, though downloads may be limited, so hurry!)
• How to Download and Install Windows 7 Beta
• How To Install Win 7 on Macs with Boot Camp
• Understanding the Windows 7 Beta Agreement Fine Print

Windows 7 Feature Analysis:
• Why Microsoft Should Give Windows 7 Away
• Why the Windows 7 Taskbar Beats the Mac OS X Dock
• Why It's Smart To Go 64-Bit With Windows 7
• Windows 7 Runs Better Than Vista On Netbooks
• Why Windows 7 Will Beat Vista Overall

Windows 7 Beta Tips
• The Calculator Now Calculates Your Mortgage Payments and More
• Miss Vista's Quick Launch? Here's How You Get It Back
• Registry Tweak Fixes Window Gadgets and UAC Incompatibility
• Adding Extra Monitors Is So Easy a Caveman Could Do It
• 'Play To' Media Control Might Take Over Your Whole House
• Xbox 360 Streaming Is Buggy For Now, but it Still Works...Kinda
• Windows Explorer Preview Pane Works Much Better Than Vista's
• The Windows Key Is Actually Useful Now!
• Maximize and Dock Your Windows by Dragging to the Screen Edge
• Where the Hell is Add/Remove Programs?
• ISO Disc Image Burning Is Built Right In
• Device Stage Gadget Interface Is Gorgeous (When Supported!)
• Libraries Replace the Antiquated Virtual Folders Feature
• Now You Can Choose Which Folders to Back Up and Create System Images
• Fix That MSI Installer Bug And Get Apps Running Again
• Windows Home Server Almost 100% Compatible Already
• Gadgets Integrated to Desktop (But Still Buggy in Beta)
• New WordPad Opens Word 2007 XML Docs
• Careful: Windows 7 Beta Sleep/Hibernate Is Still Buggy
• Windows 7 Taskbar UI Tips
• Inside the Amazing Problem Steps Recorder

Windows 7 General Observations
• Huge Security Flaw in Windows 7 User Account Control
• Windows 7 Is OK, But Can It Run Crysis?
• Windows XP, Vista and 7 Tested For Multicore Performance, XP Still Wins For Now
• Windows 7 Performance Meter Goes Up To 7.9, Still Not Fantastic For Gaming Measurements

Funny—and Not So Funny—Windows 7 Experiences
• The First Windows 7 Blue Screen of Death
• 131 BSODs We'd Rather See
• 25 Features You Definitely Won't See in Windows 7

That's because the "superbar"—as the taskbar is known by developers—jerks taskbar functionality in a new direction. It's no longer merely a window manager—just a place to manage open windows and by proxy, open applications. It's now a bona fide application launcher. More than that, it blends the two in ways that will remind many of the OS X Dock—apps that are running and those that aren't can live together. True, you've been able to launch apps from the Windows taskbar's Quick Launch ghetto for ages, but that's been demolished so that Microsoft could completely and seamlessly integrate the launching of new apps and the managing of running ones.

Managing Apps and Open Windows

The OS X Dock operates from a similar standpoint, but Windows 7 takes this (not to mention the translucency gambit) a step further: The visual signification of a running application (versus one that's not and merely "pinned" to the taskbar) is exceptionally subtle—a kind of "glare" appears on the top left corner of the icon and it's faintly outlined. It borders on actively encouraging you to forget the distinction, which as computers become more powerful and applications launch more quickly, matters less and less anyhow.

The flashing colored glass effect when an app is trying to get your attention, however, is nice, and though way less ostentatious than the old blinking button, definitely obvious. Unless you have the taskbar set to auto-hide, then the notification is barely visible as a flashing line of color on the bottom of your screen. The Mac Dock's bouncing icons definitely works better there.

These aesthetic similarities aside, what actually makes the superbar superior to the Dock is window management—including, by extension, application management. I can easily find, access or close any window I want from the taskbar nearly instantly, thanks to the combination of live thumbnails and Aero Peek. Rolling over an icon in the taskbar pops up live thumbnails of every open window of that app. If that's not enough to tell which one you want, rolling over a thumbnail brings that window to the front, full-sized, and makes every other window translucent. And it's easy to move from app to app in one motion to bring up the window you want, or close it. This is not just a neat visual trick, like Flip 3D. It's genuinely useful.

The benefit breaks down if you have more open windows of an application than the number of previews that will fit across your screen horizontally: In that case, you get a much less useful list of open windows, like old school Windows or control-clicking a Dock icon on the Mac.

The Power of the Pop-Up Menu

Right-clicking—or clicking the icon then quickly swiping upwards—brings up a pop-up menu (aka a jump list). Control-clicking on the OS X Dock does something similar, giving you a list of open windows. Some apps (like Adium) are coded for additional Dock functions, but it's not the same as the powerful visual metaphor that the superbar and Aero Peek give you. Applications still need to be coded specially to take advantage of the superbar's pop-up menu, but it's more powerful. If an app is coded to use Windows 7 jump lists—when you right-click on an icon or click and swipe upward, you have instant access to frequently used or other functions—it will erase the slight advantage the Dock currently has.

The superbar does share one of the Dock's major shortcomings as an application launcher—it's not immediately apparent how to launch a new window of an app from the taskbar. The secret as Windows evangelist Paul Thurrot points out is that you right-click the app icon, then click the app name itself appearing in the pop-up menu. Granted, from the Mac Dock, unless opening a new window is coded into the app as a Dock function, like Safari, you can't do it at all.

The superbar's biggest shortcoming—at least when you first use it—relates to the way it handles folders and document shortcuts, which is exceptionally confusing. You can only pin one folder to the bar. After that, every subsequent folder you want to pin to the taskbar is pinned to Windows Explorer. Say you have the Libraries folder pinned for quick access to Documents, Downloads, Pictures, etc. But I also want another folder (in this example, Games and Computer) pinned to the taskbar, so I drag it to the bar. There, it shares the same icon as my first pinned folder. When I click the icon, up pops Libraries. Where's the Games folder? I have to right-click on the folder icon (or click and swipe up). This gives me a jump list of pinned folders and other frequent programs. You pin documents the same way, only they're hidden in the jump menu of the application that opens them. It takes some learning before you can use it fluidly.

The View From Above

The challenge of learning a totally new Windows behavior is the cost of getting this huge step forward in UI. The superbar makes Windows way more conducive to running tons of applications, since it's actually possible to find apps and precisely the window you want in a second, no matter how bad the shitstorm on your desktop is. In this sense, it's a better application manager than the Dock, from which, generally speaking, you can't do much more than jump to open applications or close them.

It's true that it's actually less necessary for the Dock to be a superpowered wunderkind—Spaces gives you multiple desktops to work on, and Expose is pretty fantastic. It's faster, though if you've got too many windows, the thumbnails are too small to be useful. Aero Peek solves this issue nicely by letting you quickly cycle through full-screen windows. The superbar has a button in the bottom right corner that works sort of like an OS X Expose hot corner, instantly making every window transparent so you can see the desktop—clicking will actually clear everything away.

There are definitely arguments to be made against the density of the superbar, packing so many function into a single UI element—many criticisms of the Dock apply to the superbar, like the total lack of text labels, and though it sidesteps some of the Dock's issues, like the poof, it presents new flubs. It could definitely improve in some ways (especially the notification area, which I didn't even go into).

But it shows the most thought of any Windows UI element in a long time, and manages to handle the complexity and multiplicity of functions about as well as one could expect. It does more than the Dock, and for the most part, works beautifully to enable—encourage, even—serious multitasking that the default Windows UI never has before.

First, you'll notice that the Quick Launch Bar (the little tray on the left in XP and Vista where you can click to launch apps) has been combined with the Taskbar (the place where open apps used to sit so you can access them). Now, it's just one bar of icons that opens up "in place", much like OS X's dock. You then can right click on these and pin them to to the Taskbar (again, like the Dock) so you can launch these apps when not in use.

If you have apps grouped, you can CTRL + click to cycle between windows, or SHIFT + click to launch a completely new "instance" of the program. Having two instances of Firefox open means that if one window crashes, it won't affect the pages open in another window. (Chrome already has this built in to its tab scheme, in case you were curious.)

Then there's Jumplists, which are like shortcuts for each app. By default (if you have the option of having Windows "store and display recently opened items in the Star menu and the task bar") a right click will display a list of recently opened files and websites for each app. For IE, it'll be your history, for Word, it'll be the last few docs. You can also pin your own stuff into the Jumplist. For example, if you access the same folders in Windows Explorer over and over, you can right-click drag a folder onto the Win Explorer icon and it'll be "pinned" there for easy right-click access.

Microsoft also added a fantastic timesaver by allowing you to launch the first five apps in your Taskbar by hitting the Windows Button + 1~5, corresponding to each respective program. Once they're launched, you can switch between them with the same Win + # keystroke, making jumping between your favorite apps super easy.

Even features that were present in Vista—mousing over an app to see a thumbnail preview—have been improved. Now, when you have three Firefox windows open grouped under the same icon, Aero Peek will pop them all up and you can cycle through all three, previewing each quickly. For "supported" apps like IE, it'll even break out the different tabs for you to preview. See it in action below.

The one last visual improvement is a huge deal to people who use widescreen monitors, or otherwise like docking their Taskbar on the sides. Microsoft has finally smoothed out all the gradient and graphical weirdness, so that things actually look decent when you do side docking. It works great when combined with the "icon" view, so those of you with wide monitors should give it a shot.

View our other Windows 7 tips and our continuing coverage here.

The 'peek' function, which appears to be a late but worthy answer to OS X's Expose, is activated and looks fairly useful. This is the best evidence yet that the Windows 7 user experience may be drastically different from Vista, despite the superficial similarities evident in early builds. The video runs though Windows 7's solid gesture customization engine and a few other interesting tidbits, so it's probably worth downing some Dramamine and powering through. [FayerWayer]