Microsoft has published a list of some of the changes that have been made to Windows 7 since Beta (Build 7000.) If you’re running a build that is newer than 7000, you will see that some of these changes have already been incorporated.

The list covers a wide range of changes from UI tweaks to Windows Media Player. Here’s a list of some of the more interesting major changes that we spotted from the list:

• More taskbar space: Tweaks were made to the taskbar to accomodate more items. Users can now fit in 24-39% more items, depending on the resolution of their screen and icon size.

• Windows Key + # shortcuts: Pressing the windows key and a number on your keyboard will now launch one of the first 10 items in your taskbar. If you have a “Slot 1″ program running and you press Win Key + 1, tapping the 1 will cycle through the multiple windows you may have running for the specific application. Think of it as an alt + tab for just one program.

• Taskbar drag and drop Open With: With the new taskbar and jumplists, Microsoft intends the desktop to be less often used. You can now open a file directly with any application in the taskbar by holding the SHIFT key and dragging the file to an icon in the taskbar.

• Improved multi-touch usability: Several improvements were made to provide a more realistic experience. The on-screen keyboard no longer lock special keys and will function in the exact same way as a physical keyboard. Right click can be easily activated by touching an item with one finger and tapping with another finger. Drag and Drop, and selection have also been made improved so you can now select text within scrolling pages.

• Major revamp of Windows Media Player: Windows Media Player was one of the more heavily criticized features of Windows 7. The new Windows Media Player will natively support the .mov format that is commonly used for video capture in digital cameras. The Media Library will no longer display files that WMP doesn’t support playing such as Apple’s lossless .M4A format. Playback can  be resumed when a computer wakes up from sleep mode. And the Now Playing view has been made to appear more lightweight and compact.

• Changes to libraries: Windows Explorer’s header has been improved to display more useful information to users. Non-removable FAT 32 drives can now use the libraries feature. The ability to drag and drop a folder into the Libraries node in Windows Explorer has been removed due to many users getting confused when trying to copy folders, which resulted in the deletion of the original folder. Instead, you can now create a library using the right-click context menu.

• Performance enhancements: Improvements in performance are usually made based on tracking user-generated data from beta users. One example of this has been using Perftrack to keep track of how long it takes users to launch the Start Menu. The targeted time was 50ms to 100ms. Prior to the RC build, only 85% of interactions were within the acceptable range. The RC will obtain a 92% acceptance range.