On February 22; Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack available to download

The Windows Team blog has finally given us a concrete release date for Windows 7 SP1. On February 22, the service pack will be available to the general public for download via Windows Update or directly from the Microsoft website. The client (Windows 7) update is being released in tandem with its server counterpart, so administrators will be able to grab Server 2008 R2 SP1 on the 22nd as well.

If you jumped the gun and installed a pre-release version of Windows 7 SP1, you may need to remove it and reinstall the RTM -- so get your download manager ready.

Over 400 Windows options - True System Security Tweaker

Setting up policies and restrictions on a Windows computer isn't all that hard using built-in tools, but it's always nice to have a utility on hand which can further simplify the process. True System Security Tweaker (TSST) is a free, portable tool you can use to modify nearly 500 settings on your Windows systems.

Both 32 and 64-bit Windows installs (from XP to Windows 7) are supported, and just about anything you can toggle on or off, hide, or restrict is easily modified by ticking a checkbox. Everything from what a user sees in Control Panel to Internet Explorer and WIndows Media Player interface tweaks is listed.

TSST can also whiltelist or blacklist applications, and you can password protect the app to prevent unauthorized users from making changes. Undoing all your changes is a simple three-click operation. Interested developers can even request the Delphi source code.

Download True System Security Tweaker for Windows

Speeds up torrent downloads, Vuze 4.6 adds uTP support

Vuze is a solid torrent downloader, especially for less-savvy users. Its built-in media streaming and transcoding features make it a nice start-to-finish app for downloading and playing videos on just about any device. With the release of version 4.6, Vuze has added even more playback kung-fu, as well as one very important piece of bittorrent support.

Both the free and plus versions of Vuze now download torrents in a more network-friendly way, thanks to uTP support (which first arrived in uTorrent back in 2008). Several code tweaks were also made which have resulted in faster downloads, and the Vuze Crew has also tidied up the sidebar, making it easier to access the features users lean on most. Less-used options have been tucked out of the way. Vuze Plus subscribers can also utilize the Play Now feature, which analyzes a video's download speed and bitrate and begins playing when Vuze can "safely begin continuous playback."

Vuze is a free download for Windows and Mac -- Vuze Plus will run you around will run you about $25 per year.