Windows Media Foundation
While true videophiles will still turn to programs like Media Player Classic or VLC, Windows 7 is a whole new ballgame for the Joe Consumers of the world. Windows 7 adds native support for the MP4, MOV, 3GP, AVCHD, ADTS, M4A, and WTV container formats, as well as support for the H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4-SP, ASP/DivX/Xvid, MJPEG, DV, AAC-LC, LPCM and AAC-HE codecs. This should allow your average user to play damn near anything they can find in Windows Media Player without crying to the Googlenets.
Customizable system tray
It’s such a small but important change for those of us who detest icon clutter: Windows 7 allows users to pick and choose which icons remain visible on the system tray. Nobody wants to stare at one that’s a mile wide.
Generic SATA disk support
Do you remember the days when nine page articles were needed to explain how to cook SATA hard disk support into the Windows XP CD? Those days are dead, baby. Windows 7 offers a suite of generic SATA drivers which allows anybody to install the OS without any preemptive driver preparation.
Snipping Tool
Want to grab screencaps in a flash? It’s no problem on Windows 7, because the Snipping Tool in the Start Menu’s accessories folder allows you to grab a square, a freeform shape, a window, or a screen with the touch of a button. Death to the prt scr key!