The Windows 8 task manager is another revamped aspect of Microsoft‘s latest desktop operating system. Once you open the application, you will be surprised how much developers strapped away from it, at the first sight. It gives users the simplicity needed to close everyday processes and applications in just one click and lets diehard tuning fans to optimize the CPU for better performance; all details being hidden under one button. It still holds the same good features and adds some that should have been implemented since XP.

Classic View

First of all, when you open the task manager, you will see a redesigned window, displaying just opened applications and two buttons: ‘More details’ and ‘End Task’. Each of the application can be closed by selecting it and then pressing the ‘End Task’ button. The visual style is stripped of the chaotic options given in Windows 7, options that could only help advanced users. Now, a user with even the minimal amount of technical expertise can use the task manager in Windows 8 without having to wander through a multitude of buttons.

You often hear in the software industry that performance optimization is one of the last steps in the software development process. That bodes well for Windows 8, considering at the early stage of Developer Preview—even before we’ve seen an actual beta—the nascent operating system is getting widespread praise for its performance, particularly in startup times.

Windows 8 is, without a doubt, the most controversial Windows version the company has ever designed. Microsoft released its first preliminary version of Windows 8 roughly a month ago. It’s somewhat raw, definitely incomplete, and absolutely the most controversial Windows version the company has ever considered releasing. Windows, being one of the most used OS, brings great challenges for Microsoft to keep its users impressed in the next version of Windows.

Although Windows 7 has done exceptionally well since its release, Microsoft has been constantly working to make the next version of Windows a better one by further improving upon the existing features, and have added new impressive Windows 8 features along with a stunning UI.

Master these features to boost your productivity in Windows 7

In Windows 7, Microsoft added a variety of features that make users more efficient and productive than with previous versions of Windows, but there can be a small learning curve for some of them. If your job is supporting the growing number of Windows 7 users, pass along these seven tips to help them work faster and get more done — or use them yourself to boost your own Windows 7 efficiency.

1. Get the most out of Jump Lists

Jump Lists are one of Windows 7′s secret efficiency weapons. With previous versions of Windows, the Start Menu displayed a list of recently used files that users navigated to with one click. But this list linked to only certain file types, and it showed only the last 10 files, quickly cycling items off the list.

The Jump Lists in Windows 7 take the Recent Items concept and apply it on an application-by-application basis to give you fast, one-click access to the files you’ve used most recently. A little arrow to the right of the application name in the Start Menu indicates the presence of a Jump List. You hover over the application to expand the Jump List and see a list of the recently opened files for that program; click the one you want to open it instantly.

The number of items maintained in each Jump List defaults to 10, but you can expand it to up to 60 in the Start Menu settings: Right-click on the Windows taskbar and select Properties, then click on the Start Menu tab in the Properties window and select the Customize button. At the bottom of the Start Menu customization area, you can set the number of items to display in the Jump List. Whatever you set it for, though, will be the setting for all Jump Lists. There is no way to customize it on an individual program basis.

Latest version is second to appear within a month

While Microsoft has not announced the release date, or even the official name, of its follow-up to Windows 7, an early pre-beta version of the OS has surfaced on the Internet, the second version to appear within a month.

Have you ever tried to unzip a file to the Program Files directory in Windows 7 or Vista? You’ll get all sorts of permission denied errors, and generally be unsuccessful. So how do we open up the zipfile as an administrator? For that matter, how do you open any file as administrator?

There’s a simple registry tweak that will let us specify the action to run as administrator for a file type. Unfortunately you’ll have to make the tweak manually, but we’ll walk you through it.

Microsoft is continuing its Windows 7 marketing push with a recommendation that all customers examine desktop virtualization before moving users to the new operating system.

Desktop virtualization is still probably more often talked about than actually deployed, but analysts and vendors believe the expected mass migration to Windows 7 may be coupled with many new virtualization deployments.

Microsoft’s rebirth as a mobile phone player in the US market begins on Monday with the retail availability of five Windows Phone 7 devices, making for a global total of ten first-wave smartphones on the new platform. Starting Monday we’ll see the first of three WP7 phones on AT&T and two more on T-Mobile. A single CDMA device has also been unveiled for Sprint, with announced availability in early 2011. Verizon, for what it’s worth, has publicly stated they don’t plan to carry any WP7 phones, though that may or may not pan out.