I wanted to take a brief moment and highlight a post by Windows Engineering Team today discussing just some of the more visible changes coming with the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) based directly off feedback from *you*. You should definitely give the post a read if you haven’t already.

Yesterday, Steven Sinofsky posted about the amazing amount of feedback we’ve received since the release of the Windows 7 Beta and how the Windows Engineering Team is digesting that feedback to raise the level of quality of Windows 7.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Windows Media Center Team here at Microsoft and shoot some videos of the new features that are currently in the Windows 7 Beta. I’m a fairly heavy user of Windows Media Center and know many of our readers are too. This post highlights many of the the changes and new features that people can enjoy for themselves as they try out the Windows 7 Beta.

In the first of several videos I shot, Windows Media Center Program Manager Noah Spitzer-Williams takes us through the new Pictures + Videos features in Windows Media Center.

Windows Media Center Picture and Videos Features in the Windows 7 Beta

In the above video, Noah demos the following new Windows Media Center features and changes in Windows 7 (in the order of appearance in the video) to the Pictures + Videos experience:

• Changes to the way videos are displayed in Video Library to include Thumbnails AND Names for each video.
• Support for H.264 Video - no 3rd party codecs are required to play H.264 content.
• Video Play-All Option (think of it as a “Video Slide Show”) with ability to navigate between each video.
• Developers can take advantage of the new Import API for Windows Portable Devices. The new API enables photos AND videos from portable devices to be imported directly within Windows Media Center.
• Ability to create Slide Shows (new Slide Show pivot) with your pictures and can contain pictures or music or both.
• New On-screen Keyboard (Touch-enabled).
• Improved Rating Controls within Windows Media Center UI.
• New Ratings Pivot for quick access to your favorite content.
• Play Favorites feature with new Slide Show style.
• Auto Slide Show feature acts as a screensaver for Windows Media Center.

You may have caught PowerPlaylist in the Windows Media Center menu in the video. PowerPlaylist is an application originally released by the Windows Media Center Team for Windows Vista and can be downloaded here via CodePlex. The Windows Media Center Team is revising PowerPlaylist for Windows 7 and an early copy was installed on the PC running the Windows 7 Beta in the video. They plan to release an updated version to CodePlex soon. I’ll be covering that soon as well.

Expect more videos to follow shortly!

If you’re running the Windows 7 Beta and hadn’t already noticed, we are introducing 3 new Windows Games for Windows 7.

Internet Backgammon:

Internet Checkers:

Internet Spades:

These games were well liked in Windows XP. Due to the amount of requests we received, we are bringing them back!

The new versions of these games have been completely redesigned and improved over their old-school predecessors. With each game, you can:

• Play online against human opponents (up to 4 players at the same time with Internet Spades).
• Select from 3 skill levels to be matched with similarly skilled players from all around the world.
• If your opponent drops out, a computer opponent takes over to finish the game.
• Choose from cool different backgrounds and piece/card designs.

And as I mentioned in my post about Games Explorer, you can track statistics for games played as well.

Tired of Minesweeper? Definitely give these games a try and join the thousands of other players online who are playing too. I’m actually quite addicted to Internet Checkers.

In Windows Vista, we introduced the Games Explorer. This is the place where you can launch and manage your games, including built-in Windows games such as Solitaire and Chess Titans, and also PC games such as Games for Windows (and Games for Windows – LIVE) titles.

In Windows 7, we are introducing new functionality to Games Explorer that we think people will enjoy. These new features in Games Explorer can not only be appreciated by the casual gamer looking to play one of Windows 7’s many built-in games, but also the more advanced PC gamer too.

The new features I am going to talk about here are available for you to try out in the Windows 7 Beta today.

When you first fire up Games Explorer in Windows 7, you will notice that Games Explorer is divided up between Games and Game Providers. Game Providers are the companies that distribute the games you install on your PC.

For example, I installed Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved from MSN Games, which was made by Bizarre Creations (the same folks behind Project Gotham Racing for the Xbox). MSN Games would be considered a Game Provider, and can take advantage of the new built-in functionality to Games Explorer in Windows 7. The only official Game Provider available today with the Windows 7 Beta is us (Microsoft). In the future, you can expect to see more Game Providers appear.

Games Explorer will deliver updates from Game Providers, including news and information regarding their own games. Updates from Game Providers appear in the right-hand Preview Pane when a Game Provider is selected. When you select the Microsoft Games Provider, you can see updates from us (see below screenshot).

Under “Options”, you can enable automatic update notifications for games, along with automatic updates to Game Provider news and information, or simply check yourself manually by right-clicking on a specific Game Provider or game and choosing “Check online for game updates”.

Another neat feature in the Windows 7 Games Explorer is the ability for you to see when an update is available for a game you have installed. I installed Flight Simulator X and Halo 2, and Games Explorer showed that an update was available for both these games.

Instead of having to launch the game and install the update through the game itself – you can now install game updates directly within Games Explorer.

In the Preview Pane for a game that has an update available, a button will appear to download that update. In the above screenshot, you can see I can choose to click “Download Now” for the update available for Halo 2 for Windows Vista. When you click “Download Now”, you are asked to confirm the download.

The update for the game will download and then the “Download now” button turns into “Install Now”.

One more thing… Games Explorer will track statistics for the games you play. As you can see – I’ve lost one game in both Chess Titans and Internet Checkers. Statistics are tracked for the different levels for each game. In the future, expect to see many of your favorite games take advantage of this functionality.

In a follow-up post coming very shortly, I’ll discuss the new Internet Games for Windows 7. Stay tuned!

Just like with the Windows 7 Beta, I thought it would be nice to take a look at what people have been saying about Release Candidate 1 of Internet Explorer 8.

Dana Wollman from LAPTOP says:

The last time we tested IE 8, it was often—but not always—faster than Firefox 3. This time around, it blew Firefox out of the water, along with Google Chrome.

Joe Wilcox from Microsoft Watch says this:

IE 8 is the most significant upgrade to the browser family in more than a decade—not since IE 4, I say. This is the version you want to download, try and adopt.

Preston Gralla from Computerworld says this:

IE8 is clearly nearly ready for release. RC1 is stable and fast, and it contains a full feature set.

From SuperSite for Windows, Paul Thurrott says this:

...IE 8 RC1 is a solid upgrade over the previous Beta 2 release, and points to a solid final release. If you're already using a previous beta version, you should snag RC1 immediately. And if you're curious about the future of Windows Web browsers, you could do a lot worse than IE 8 RC1: Even in prerelease form, it's a solid, dependable browser. Recommended.

Anthony Ha from VentureBeat says:

All in all, this sounds like a cool package, not just a facelift. At the very least, I can say that the new browser includes some compelling concepts that could help Microsoft hold on to its insanely high market share, and perhaps even reverse its decline against competitors like Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari.

Michael Muchmore from PC Magazine says this:

...I really like what Microsoft has done with Internet Explorer, and, in this late prerelease version, looks ready to give our Editors' Choice Web browser, Firefox 3, a real run for its money. The new browsing conveniences, tab behavior, security protections, and standards support offer a potent combo.

And from InformationWeek, J. Nicholas Hoover says:

Microsoft has come a long way with IE8 by pushing performance barriers, embracing Web standards, and adding a few new features.

If you haven’t already, download Internet Explorer 8 RC1 today from http://www.microsoft.com/ie8.

Have you ever been browsing the web and suddenly realized that you need to quickly check the weather, the traffic, or stock price for some company? With Internet Explorer 8 you can get all of that information, and much more, without ever having to navigate to another site or leave the page you are on. We call it a Web Slice. With Live Search and Internet Explorer 8, you can have quick access to this kind of information and more.

So what are Web Slices exactly? Web Slices bring the user’s favorite data directly into the Internet Explorer 8’s Favorites Bar, making it instantly available wherever the user goes on the Web. The screenshot below shows a Web Slice for tracking the weather for Seattle:

Instead of having to repeatedly visit websites to check for updated information, Web Slices allow people using Internet Explorer 8 to keep track of information from within a webpage right from the Favorites Bar. When a website has a Web Slice, users will be notified a Web Slice exists within that page in several ways:

A green Web Slice icon will appear in the Internet Explorer Toolbar (where the RSS feed icon usually is) notifying you that the webpage you are on has a Web Slice. As you move your mouse through the webpage, when you mouse over an area of the webpage that has the Web Slice, the Web Slice icon will also appear. This is because as I mentioned above, Web Slices are snippets of information within a webpage.

Today, Live Search provides several really neat Web Slices (that ties in with search results) that allows you to stay up-to-date with the latest information on local weather, traffic, top headlines, and stocks as you browse the web.

Live Search Weather Web Slice: When searching weather for a specific city or town in Live Search, the results provided show the current weather for that city or town and the forecast for the next 4 days. These results are also offered as a Web Slice which can be added to your Favorites Bar in Internet Explorer 8.

For example, if I search “weather Seattle” in Live Search, I get the current weather and 4-day forecast for Seattle. I can add to this Web Slice to my Favorites Bar and stay on top of the weather for Seattle. The Web Slice will regularly update with the latest weather information.

A screenshot for the Live Search Weather Web Slice can be seen above.

TIP: You can right click on a Web Slice on the Favorites Bar in Internet Explorer 8 to “refresh” a specific Web Slice or all Web Slices to get up-to-date information.

Live Search Traffic Web Slice: This one is my personal favorite. In Live Search if you search on traffic for a specific city (like Seattle), you are given the latest traffic for that city in your results. These traffic results are also a Web Slice which can be added to your Favorites Bar. If you live in your browser – this could be a great way to stay up on traffic (and when it might be a good time to leave work!).

Please note that this Web Slice (and traffic results in Live Search) is only available for select cities that offer traffic data. If you search for traffic for your city or town and the search results don’t offer up any traffic then it is likely Live Search does not have traffic data for your city.

TIP: You can grab a specific Web Slice on your Favorites Bar and drag it left or right and change the order Web Slices and Favorites are displayed on your Favorites Bar.

Live Search Top Stories Web Slice: Stay on top of the top stores from Live Search! When you go to Live Search News, you can add the Top Story Web Slice to your Favorites Bar. It also works with specific search topics (like Windows 7) under Live Search News too.

Live Search Finance Web Slice: Just like with weather, you can search for stock results on a specific company on Live Search. The financial results for that company can be added to your Favorites Bar as a Web Slice.

TIP: You can grab the corner of the expanded Web Slice and make it bigger.

I hope you find these Web Slices useful! There are many other Web Slices available that do a variety of things – such as the eBay Web Slice that lets you track eBay auctions. In the next couple weeks I’ll be talking more about Web Slices and the Favorites Bar.

Last week we made available Internet Explorer 8 RC1 for folks to download. If you haven’t already, download it from http://www.microsoft.com/ie8.

To get even more Web Slices for Internet Explorer 8, head on over http://www.ieaddons.com!