The critics and Windows users will likely amazed with the born of this RC 1. To avoid “spicy” criticism from customers, Microsoft now put extra consideration to the development of Windows 7.

In the previous beta version, users are given the opportunity to ‘recognize’ the new features in Windows 7. RC 1 is now comes with the completion of these features.

Prior to installing Windows 7 RC 1, there are 7 important things you should know:

1. Some new changes;
   • The Taskbar becomes more responsive and feels more comfortable.
   • Music streaming via Windows Media Player.
   • To enable or disable some Windows features. You can now ‘throw’ Internet Explorer 8 and some other Windows’ pre-installed software.
   • Additional Driver Support, now you do not need to search for new drivers when installing Windows 7. The system will automatically recognize the driver.
   • New wallpapers, themes and sound schemes addition.
2. You don’t need a bootable disk or DVD during the installation of Windows 7. You can do this from within Windows itself.
3. Installing the upgrade version from the Beta, now is not working on RC 1.
4. Windows 7 is able to run with VMWare or Virtual PC.
5. It’s getting easier to repair Windows system. Windows 7 can detect any system error, before you repair it.
6. Old Windows XP can still run in Windows 7 via Windows XP Mode (XPM) application, how cool is that…
7. You can enjoy the Windows 7 RC 1 for free for about 1 year, until June, 1 2010.

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One big ease-of-use advantage Linux distributions have over Windows is the process of installing and updating applications - thanks to repositories and software like Debian's apt-get. Running Windows doesn't mean that you can't easily maintain your app installs. With a few helpful (and free) downloaders you can add that missing functionliaty to your system, too!
Here are five that I find particularly helpful - share your favorites in the comments!

Anti-Malware Toolkit (pictured above) - If you download malware fighting apps frequently, you need AMT. Nearly 40 programs are supported, including must-haves like MalwareBytes, CCleaner, Autoruns, Unlocker, Rootkit Revealer, and more. AMT also supports command line arguments for easy batch scripting and scheduling.

FileHippo Update Checker - FileHippo is one of the best places out there to download software. The site is well organized, and they do a good job of only listing quality apps. Their update checker makes it easy to keep your core free applications up to date. It's also available as a portable application.

GetIt - Wondering why AppSnap, AppUpdater, and Win-Get aren't listed? It's because GetIt rolls all three into a single interface, is able to download over 400 applications, and integrates nicely with FARR. Don't worry about installing the supporting cast ahead of time, GetIt will grab them for you on the first launch. GetIt is also portable now, though you'll need to install the regular version first then create the portable file yourself.

Chrome Nightly Updater - If you prefer to rock a cutting-edge (and unstable) browser, nightly builds are the way to go. CNU makes short work of keeping your Chromium install hot-off-the-compiler fresh.

Ketarin - Are you the hands-on type? Ketarin is the downloader for you - think of it as a kicked-up frontend for wget. Since developers can frequently change folders and filenames (hello, version strings!) Ketarin can be a bit of work to maintain. It's not all DIY, though, as Ketarin also supports FileHippo program IDs - which never change.

From: http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/05/27/5-great-program-downloaders-and-updaters-for-windows/

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