Windows 7's clock feature is handy for calling friends

Windows 7's clock along with its time zone settings looks basically the same as it did in previous versions of the Windows Taskbar Notification area.

So what’s the big deal with Windows 7's clock? Well although not an earth shaking new feature, Windows 7 clock does have an additional tab on the Date and Time dialog box that reads “Additional Clocks”.

And why would anyone want additional clocks?

Well let’s say you frequently phone your snowbird friends in Sri Jayawardenepura and Krasnoyarsk. You just might want to be able to hover your pointer over your notification bar and be assured they are awake and ready to receive your phone call.

So how does one add clocks to the Task Bar?

1. Click on the clock on the right side of the Task Bar and then click “Change Date and Time Settings”.
2. When the Date and Time dialog box appears click the Additional Clocks tab
3. Click the first “Show this clock” box which places a checkmark in it.
4. Then select the time zone by clicking the down arrow and moving to it.
5. Once you’ve selected the time zone type a display name for the time zone in “Enter display name” window.

If you want to display the second clock just repeat the above steps for the second clock in the “Additional Clocks” tab, click OK to activate the new clocks, and exit from the Date and Time dialog box.

Now you have two new choices when viewing the clock at the bottom right corner of your screen. Just move your mouse over the clock and hover.

Hey, I didn’t promise you I’d reveal Windows 7's most significant hidden new feature. But for those phoning folks calling Sri Jayawardenepura and Krasnoyarsk the feature is certainly helpful.

If the availability of multiple clocks does not excite you, perhaps all the new features of Windows 7 Calculator will.

There’s a whole bunch of new calculator features to include:
1. Calculate Dates: You can easily calculate the differences between two dates (years, months, weeks, days) or add/subtract days to a specific date.
2. Unit Conversion: Very handy when you need to convert distances and weights.
3. And be still my heart! - even a Fuel Consumption Converter for computing your miles per gallon.
4. A host of other different calculator modes e.g., Scientific, Programmer, and Statistics.

Do a walk about the Calculator. It has many worthwhile new features that might interest you.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.