The taskbar button grouping feature is nothing new in Windows 7, and it’s still very irritating if you want to quickly switch between multiple windows of the same type. But Windows 7 makes it better.

To explain: Normally, when you click on a taskbar icon that has multiple open windows, you’ll see the popup previews for all of them, and then have to switch between them… which can quickly get tedious if you are repeatedly switching between the same windows.

But… if you hold down the Ctrl key while you click the button, you’ll immediately be taken to the last window of that type that you had open. (If you continue to click the button while holding the Ctrl key down, Windows 7 will cycle through all the windows of that type.)

As an example, imagine you have three Chrome windows open, and 15 instances of Notepad, but you only want to switch back and forth between two of the open windows. You can simply hold the Ctrl key while clicking on the Chrome icon, and then hold the Ctrl key while clicking on the Notepad icon—alternating between them is easy.

And before you ask, sure… you could close some windows, use Alt+Tab, use Aero Snap to split the screen, or any number of other methods of switching between them. The point is that this little trick can be a huge time-saver when you just want to get back to the last window that you were using.

Weekly Stuff for Your Random Clicking Enjoyment

Good News, Everyone! I spent all week slaving over a hot bookmarking stove, so you better enjoy them. Or install a wormhole in the table.

• Bing
  Microsoft releases information about their new search engine, which actually looks fairly interesting. ArsTechnica has a run-down of the features.
• Dangerous Microsoft DirectX vulnerability under attack 
  ZDNet discusses the latest security hole in Windows – though it only affects XP or earlier. You can simply enable the workaround directly from Microsoft to make sure you are protected.
• Hulu Desktop 
  Very interesting desktop media player, even integrates with your Apple remote if you are installing on a Mac.
• Outlook Macro saves Embedded Pictures in Their Original Format
  Very useful article on how to save those embedded dancing GIF images from an email. Thanks Scott!
• Why Microsoft Named Its Search Engine Bing 
  Grouchy John Dvorak comes up with a bunch of thoughts on why Microsoft named it “Bing”. Surprisingly, it’s funny.
• Moblin Beta 2 evolves into a capable Linux option for netbooks 
  Interesting option for netbooks – although the tiny keyboards make me wonder if they are really made for Gnomes.
• MightyBox 
  One of the readers over at Lifehacker creates a Gnome-Do / Quicksilver clone for Windows. Only problem is that it’s not done – he’s looking for .NET programmers to help out with the project. Very promising stuff!
• Verizon Android Phones Are Officially Coming 
  The very second this phone is available, I’m switching. I might even hire somebody to wait in line for me.
• The OS X Alpha Geek Desktop 
  You may think you are a geek. Once you take a look at this desktop you’ll realize that this guy has outnerded everybody on the planet. Seriously.
• Forgotten Attachment Detector Reminds You to Attach that File 
  MS Office Labs has their own official plugin for Outlook now, and it works quite well.

Reviews and Such

Mysticgeek pumps out reviews like clockwork. Which makes me wonder, what exactly is that supposed to mean? Clocks… that work? As opposed to the ones only right twice a day? Honestly, some of the phrases in the English language are really quite silly if you stop and think about them.

Trend Micro Anti-Virus plus Anti-Spyware 16 The Good: Effective AntiVirus and Spyware protection with great reporting capabilities	Read the Full Review…
ESET NOD32 Version 3 The Good: Light on system resources with real-time protection at an affordable price	Read the Full Review…
ScrambleOnClick The Good: Easily encrypts certain text in documents that needs to stay confidential	Read the Full Review…

The Daily Articles

Here’s the daily articles for the short week. I’m sleepy, so… insert witty phrase here.

• BitLocker To Go Encrypts Portable Flash Drives in Windows 7
• Friday Fun: Karoshi Suicide Salaryman
• Doomi is a Free Small Lightweight To-Do List App
• Easily Inventory System Information with PC Audit
• Apologies About An Awful Audio Advertisement
• Download and Convert Real Media Audio Streams the Easy Way
• Switch to the Dvorak Keyboard Layout in XP

Editor’s Weekly Note

We’d like to welcome Daniel Gilbert as a new writer—you might have noticed that he wrote the Real Media and the Dvorak articles earlier this week. He’s an excellent writer and we’re very happy to have him onboard.

In a weird twist of fate, we also have a new intern with the same first name: Daniel Lyell, who has been doing some great stuff behind the scenes so far—we’ll be showing off some of his hard work next week. Welcome aboard, both of you!

Next week, we’ll be showing off yet another new writer…