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It's been over a week since the Windows 7 Beta was released to the public. You've read our initial impressions and even followed our guide to installing the OS using a USB key. So what now? Microsoft's post-Vista Windows experience is more than the obvious Taskbar and user interface updates; there are plenty of hidden features and shortcuts that haven't been advertised.

Secrets, hidden tech and unadvertised features

Windows 7 has been making headlines for a few months now. If you've read one or two of the stories and reviews dedicated to it, you might think that you know about all that it contains: new touchscreen features, a revamped taskbar with larger thumbnail previews, Internet Explorer 8, easier networking and so on.

Troubleshoot problems, build a repair disc and more

Sure, Windows 7 looks a lot like Vista, but spend a while exploring Windows 7 and you find it's actually crammed with new features.

And while individually these features may seem small, the cumulative effect makes a real difference to your PC productivity.

While Windows 7 has gotten plenty of attention over the past two weeks, there are some features in there that haven't gotten as much attention. I wrote on Friday about a new programming interface for location-based services. Here are seven more features that caught my eye.

Opinion – As long as we can remember, Apple has always been viewed as being much more creative and innovative than Microsoft. If there was a new feature in Windows, you could bet that the comparison with Apple would follow almost immediately – and allegations that Microsoft simply copied what Apple had already. There is an ongoing argument, even if many Mac OS X "innovations" are borrowed from the open-source community. Expose windows manager? Borrowed from a long list of Linux UI add-ons. Spaces?