When it came to light that Microsoft was planning to remove the Start button from Windows for good, many ardent fans of its functionality were unhappy. Now, Microsoft has explained why it made the choice to ditch the button, which has graced PC desktops for over 17 years.

uBar is an application that adds a Windows task bar to Mac OS X. Why? No, seriously, WHY?

The taskbar in Windows 7 is a revamped combination of the previous Quick Launch and Vista's taskbar, but if you really, really miss Quick Launch, then keep reading.

Device Stage is a set of baked-in icons and menus for printers, cameras, phones, etc. that wait for the moment when you plug something in. Recognition comes fast and smooth—provided the gadget is supported. UPDATE

Windows 7 Beta, Microsoft's thank-you gift for putting up with Vista, has been out two weeks and we're covering every exciting inch of it. Here's how to catch up, or get the beta for yourself:

Yeah, I said it. The Windows 7 taskbar is the most important Windows UI change since Windows 95, and it will dramatically change the way you use Windows. And it's better than the Mac's Dock.

Once you get past the slightly differently-colored Aero theme in Windows 7, you'll realize that it looks, UI-wise, almost the same as Vista. That is, until you look down at the Taskbar. Now that's new.

As we pointed out in our Windows 7 walkthrough, one of the biggest improvements to the UI is the taskbar. It is hard to explain new features like "Peek" and how the functionality of the taskbar has evolved without actually showing you how it works—so this video should do a lot to clear things up. All-in-all it looks…