ThinkNext.net has a whole screenshot gallery up along with a couple of videos showcasing Microsoft's latest work. The screenshots show an updated Start menu, a new calculator, a tweaked Windows Explorer, new control panels, and updated versions of Paint and WordPad. Surprisingly, the latter two now tote Office 2007-style "ribbons" instead of traditional menu bars and toolbars. ThinkNext.net says Windows 7 serves up far fewer User Account Control prompts than Vista, too, and Vista's side-bar "gadgets" have migrated to the Windows 7 desktop.

Judging by ThinkNext.net's videos, Microsoft has even made big changes to the calculator. Not only does it have a more modern-looking user interface, but it comes with built-in tools for unit conversions and time calculations. Also, Windows 7 apparently includes a lightweight version of Windows Media Player that starts up almost instantly