November 10th, 2008
Windows 7 - The "Blue Badge" experience
When Microsoft shipped the 6801 build of Windows 7 some of the unfinished features were hidden from view using an elaborate protection mechanism. This mechanism has now been rendered useless thanks to the work of Rafael Rivera who developed a tool called Blue Badge.
The patching process seems painless enough (for 32-bit Vista … no 64-bit version available yet).
Blue Badge gallery here
Note: Be careful, this does permanently patch a number of files, specifically:
\Windows\Explorer.exe
\Windows\System32\wisptis.exe
\Windows\System32\ieframe.dll
\Windows\System32\shell32.dll
\Windows\System32\stobject.dll
\Windows\System32\TabletPC.cpl
\Windows\System32\themecpl.dll
\Windows\System32\themeui.dll
\Windows\System32\powercfg.cpl
If there’s a chance you might want to roll back, keep backups!
So, what goodies does Blue Badge unveil. Well, you get new Superbar task bar replacement, which is unfinished …
Jumplists are unfinished …
There’s are touch-based panning and gesture options available, which work with the right hardware …
And there’s the Desktop Slideshow feature, which seems to work (think DreamScene without needing the Cray) …
Bottom line, I can see why Microsoft chose to hide these features. I’m waiting until the next build before relying on any of these features.
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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| 11/11/08
