Accessibility

Desktop

Networking

Security

Windows Explorer

Action Center

Fonts

Paint

System

Windows Live

Backup

Gadgets

Parental Controls

Taskbar

Windows Media Center

Calculator

Games

Performance

Touch

Windows Media Player

Contacts

International

Printing

Troubleshooters

Windows PowerShell

Control Panel

Internet Explorer

Recovery

Windows Search

Windows Virtual PC

Wordpad

Narrator
Narrator is a simple screen reader that reads aloud the text on screen and describes events as well. You can select any word, line, paragraph, page or document to be read to you by the Narrator.

On-Screen Keyboard

On-Screen Keyboard displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys. You can select keys using the mouse or another pointing device,  or you can use a single key or group of keys to cycle through the keys on the screen. It also supports audible clicks and text prediction.

Magnifier

The new improved Magnifier helps you enlarge different parts of the screen with ease. Just press Windows Key and ‘+’ to zoom in quickly. Also supports color inversion to make it easier to see.

High Contrast Themes
To make the screen easier to see, Windows 7 comes with 4 high contrast themes.

Keep your PC updated
It also checks your Windows Update settings to make sure you’re always up to date with the latest fixes and improvements to Windows.

Windows Backup lets you copy your files to a safe location for all user accounts. You can chose any files, folders and libraries that you want to back up and have them created at regular intervals. Backups can be made on the same hard disk Windows is installed in ( not recommended ), on a secondary hard disk, external hard disk, flash drives, network drives or optical media.

You can create a complete system backup which includes your Windows installation, settings and personal files. In case something goes wrong, the System Image can be restored to bring you computer back to the same working condition (with the same files, settings and programs) it was when the image was made.

System Restore

System Restore helps you restore your computer’s system files to an earlier point in time. It’s a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as e‑mail, documents, or photos.

In case you accidentally modify or delete a file, you can restore it using previous versions. Previous versions are automatically saved as part of restore points. 

Convert values
You can use Calculator to perform conversions for different units of measure.

Import/Export
Windows Contacts supports all popular formats so you can import and export them to and with other software with no issues what so ever.

Improved Control Panel Options
Fonts, Windows Firewall, HomeGroup, Personalization, Screen Resolution and Gadgets  are just some of the new and improved control panel options that make life easier than before.

The taskbar has been redesigned to help you get your work done faster. Any program can now be pinned to the taskbar and the new taskbar icons can be rearranged by dragging to your liking. On taskbar button hover, thumbnail previews of each window or file open in that particular application will be shown.

Peek at Desktop
The show desktop button has been moved to the bottom right corner of the taskbar. If you move your mouse to the bottom right corner now, it’ll activate the ‘Peek at Desktop’ feature, which will make all windows and application invisible to let you peek at your desktop and gadgets. Click that button and all your open application will be minimized.

Glass in the taskbar
The taskbar has the same Glass effect as the rest of the Windows applications now which gives provides a new dimension in customization and personalization. Changing the color of glass will effect the taskbar too, hence you can really make your Windows stand out.

Border Transparency when maximized
Even when you maximize any window now, the borders will stay transparent unlike in Windows Vista.

Reordered Right Click option on Desktop
Right clicking on the desktop now gives you quick access to options like Screen Resolution, Personalize and Gadgets.

Desktop Background Slideshows
You can now chose any number of backgrounds and use them as a desktop background slideshow.  This functionality extends to using RSS       feeds for slideshows as well. Find out more about RSS Powered Windows 7 Desktop Slideshows.

Improved notification area
The new and improved notification area in Windows 7 hides 3rd party icons and their notifications unless you allow them too. This makes you work less intrusive and lets you focus on what you’re doing. Even the system icons can be hidden if you want to as well as the clock through the notification area options.

Small Buttons or Large Button?
If you’re a power user or have too many icons pinned to your taskbar, you can reduce the size of the icons to gain more space, or if you want you can change the options to show the labels of each taskbar button like the previous versions of Windows. The drag and rearrange features will still be there to help you in your work.

Windows 7 Start Orb
The new Windows 7 Start Orb now highlights in a beautiful way similar to the new gorgeous boot screen.

Aero Snap
Move any window to the top, and it’ll automatically maximize. Drag it back and it’ll restore to its size. Move any file or windows to the  left or right of your screen and it’ll snap to the side of the screen. Double clicking the top or bottom edge of any window will now resize its height to match the height of the desktop. Double click it again to restore it back. Windows 7 helps you in multitasking.

Themes
Windows 7 brings back the theming feature from the Windows 9x era that you loved so much. Not only can you chose amongst the available themes, you also get regional themes. You can also create and share them with others. More themes can be downloaded here and here.

Jump Lists in Start Menu

Color Hot-Track
A feature that is part of the new taskbar. When hovering your mouse over active applications’ taskbar buttons, the button is highlighted with a unique color depending on the icon that follows your mouse arrow. This cool feature helps differentiate between running applications and closed ones.

New Keyboard Shortcuts
New Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts make it much easier and quicker to complete your tasks. The Windows key is more useful than ever now! Check out the cheat sheet of shortcuts here.

New Desktop Backgrounds
Windows 7 comes with a new collection of desktop backgrounds ranging from architecture to landscapes.

New Sounds
Windows 7 contains 13 sounds schemes, each unique in its own way. Sounds can also be bundled with themes allowing you to customize your Windows further.

DirectWrite
DirectWrite, a DirectX API, provides support to applications for high-quality text rendering, resolution-independent outline fonts, and full Unicode text and layout support. It gives hardware-accelerated text, when used with Direct2D.

Art and information about installed games
The Games folder retrieves the cover art for games as well as information such as their genre, ratings, publisher, developer, release date and recommended and required Windows Experience Index scores.

WARP
Windows 7 will ship with WARP which will allow DirectX 10 and 10.1 based applications to run on un supported hardware as well. WARP will utilize the CPU as a graphics engine.

Compatibility View
You can chose to display websites in compatibility view that haven’t yet been updated for Internet Explorer 8.

Microsoft SmartScreen Filter
SmartScreen filters protects you from phishing websites, online fraud as well as websites that download distribute malicious software.

InPrivate Browsing
InPrivate browsing mode lets you surf the web without leaving any traces of your activity on the web and the websites you visited.

InPrivate Filtering
InPrivate Filtering protects your information from the websites or content providers that you visit.

Developer Tools
The developer tools in Internet Explorer 8 let developers view and debug their websites easily.

Browsing Session Restore
With Internet Explorer 8, you can continue right from where you left before closing the browser by going to the Tools menu and clicking on Reopen Last Browsing Session.

Find on Page
The new redesigned find on page lets you find what you want as you type it on the current website. You can also chose to highlight the search results or cycle through them.

Web Slices
Using Web Slices, you can keep up with frequently updated sites directly from the new Favorites Bar. If a Web Slice is available on a page, a green Web Slices icon will appear in the Command Bar. Click on this icon to easily subscribe and add the Web Slices to the Favorites Bar so you can keep track of that “slice” of the web. When new information becomes available, the Web Slice will become highlighted. When you click on the Web Slice in the Favorites Bar, it previews relevant information. Clicking on the preview takes you directly to the site for more information.

Crash Recovery
If a website stops working or some faulty plug-in messes up and the tab crashes, Internet Explorer 8 automatically attempts to recover that tab. Other opened tabs aren’t effected.

Suggested Sites
Suggested Sites offers you suggestions of websites you might like based on your browsing history.

Reopen closed tabs
If you accidentally close any tab, you can just reopen that tab by hitting Ctrl + Shift + T.

Improved Performance
Internet Explorer 8 is the fastest version of Internet Explorer to date. It start quickly, and loads pages even more quickly. The script engine in IE 8 loads web sites based on AJAX or JavaScript faster than ever.

Smart Address Bar
The new address bar is intelligent. Type in a few characters and it’ll fetch websites from your history, favorites and RSS feeds which best match the entered text. You can also delete individual items in history by just clicking on the X that appears next to them in the address bar. That’s smart!

Internet Explorer Cross-site Scripting (XSS) Filter
IE XSS Filter prevents malicious websites from stealing your personal information when you visit trusted sites.

Safety menu
The new Safety menu provides quick access to the new security and privacy features in Internet Explorer 8, such as InPrivate Browsing, InPrivate Filtering and SmartScreen Filter

Tab Grouping
Internet Explorer 8 groups different tabs from a single website or links opened in new tabs from it, with the same tab color, so you can work more efficiently.