Must-Have Windows 7 Downloads

It's hard to believe, but Windows 7 is just turning one year old. And what an impressive first year the operating system enjoyed, receiving almost universal praise from critics and users alike. Of course, even the most nimble, secure, and versatile OS has room for improvement. That's why we're following up our popular "Best Windows 7 Downloads" with another assortment of essential apps and utilities, all designed to help you make your 7-powered PC even better. And believe it or not, they're all free.

(If you're already looking to grab several of these useful utilities, see our "Must-Have Windows 7 Downloads" collection for all of the links in one convenient spot.)

Home Sweet Home: Windows 7 Desktop Utilities

BatteryBar

When your laptop is running on AC power, BatteryBar switches from green to blue and shows how long until your machine reaches a full charge. And when you mouse over the gauge, a pop-up window displays a wealth of additional information: total battery capacity, charge/discharge rate, AC status, and even a lifetime estimate based on historical charge/discharge data.

BatteryBar is free, but you'll also find a Pro version with features such as a graph of battery profiles, low/critical power warnings, and automatic power-scheme switching that kicks in when you move between AC and battery power. Interestingly, developer Osiris Development lets you choose the price you want to pay for Pro: $1 to $10. Even if you stick with the free version, though, this is a must-have app.

Download BatteryBar | Price: Free; Pro version $1 to $10

Dexpot

Specifically, a new plug-in called SevenDex displays thumbnail previews of your desktops when you mouse over its taskbar icon, thereby overcoming a common problem with virtual desktops: remembering what's where. For instance, did you leave Word running on Desktop 2 or Desktop 3? Instead of having to cycle through all your desktops to find what you're after, now you can just steal a glance at SevenDex's preview thumbnails and then click the one you want.

If your budget (or your desk) won't accommodate a second monitor, you'll love Dexpot. It's open-source software, and it's free for personal use.

Download Dexpot | Price: Free

Taskbar Items Pinner

After extracting this tiny app, make sure to run it under the administrator account (by right-clicking the icon and choosing Run as administrator). Then just click the box next to any item you wish to pin. If it's a file or folder, click the button next to Path, choose File or Folder, and then navigate to the item you want. (Alternatively, you can type in a Web address.) In the Icon field, type %SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll, and then enter a number in the adjoining field (3 for a folder, 13 for a Web shortcut--you'll have to experiment to find others). Finally, click Add Item. If you ever decide to remove any of these newly added extras, right-click the appropriate taskbar icon and choose Unpin this program from taskbar.

Download Taskbar Items Pinner | Price: Free