Microsoft Windows 7 might be coming sooner than you think, so you'll want to familiarize yourself with the changes to be prepared. Since it's still in development new changes are being introduced, so you might think that's hard to do but don't fret; Microsoft has used one of its official blogs to name some "visible" changes made in the transition from the beta test to the Release Candidate (RC) version of Windows 7.

Many of the changes have been made in response to beta tester feedback. For example, some beta testers felt that when an item in the taskbar flashes orange to let them know it needs attention, it's not noticeable enough. Microsoft is changing it to a more attention-grabbing shade of orange, and it will flash seven times (Windows 7, get it?) instead of three.

The Alt-Tab keyboard command, which cycles between all open windows so you can pick the one you want to interact with, now makes use of Windows 7's Aero Peek. That means that when you Alt-Tab, all the windows except the one you're currently selecting will become transparent. It should help you to find what you're looking for a bit more easily.

There aren't just user interface changes, either; 36 changes in all are listed, and they range from improvements to sound playback to improved security measures. Head over to the Engineering Windows 7 blog to read the complete list.

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