Some of the new features in Windows Vista are well hidden but useful in specific circumstances. A little thing like the clock on the taskbar has a nice improvement that you might not notice: You can add a second (or third) clock to the display to keep track of the current time in a different part of the world. This comes in handy if you’re a telecommuter who has to keep in touch with the home office on the other side of the country, or if you build web applications and need to keep track of timestamps in GMT.

Start by clicking the clock in the taskbar. That opens up this display, showing your system time and the time zone you entered during setup.

To add a second clock, click the Date and Time Settings link and click the Additional Clocks tab. Select the Additional Clock 1 check box and then choose a time zone. Give the new clock a label, if you wish.

After you save your changes, click the taskbar clock again to see the new clock in action.

Because this change doesn’t affect the system date or time, any user can customize the setting this way. You don’t need to be an administrator to make the change – and thus no User Account Control dialog boxes will appear.

Longtime Windows users know what a time-saver the Run box is. Instead of digging through menus or Explorer windows to find a shortcut or folder, you can enter a command or folder location directly in the Run box. This is also a great way to start a program with a command-line switch or other option.

In Windows Vista, the Search box takes over many of the functions of the Run box. When you enter the name of a command or shortcut, it appears in the search results list almost instantly, and you can run the command or program by pressing Enter or clicking that item. But there are still a few tricks that you can’t do with the Search box. For that, Run is still around.

To display the Run box quickly, use the Windows Key logo + R shortcut. If you don’t have a Windows logo key or if you prefer to use the mouse, you can add the Run option to the Start menu in Windows Vista.

1. Right-click the Start button and choose Properties.
2. On the Start Menu tab, click the Customize button to the right of the Start Menu option.
3. In the Customize Start Menu dialog box, scroll down and place a check mark next to the Run option, as I’ve done here.

Make any other changes you want and then click OK to save your changes. (I prefer small icons, for example, so I scroll all the way to the bottom of the list and clear the default Use Large Icons check box.) A new Run option now appears at the bottom of the Start menu’s right pane.

Vista Beta 2 is about to go public, so I thought I’d start sharing some of my Vista tips. I’ll number them and collect them on a special page.

In recent reviews of Beta 2, I’ve read several complaints that it takes too many clicks to get to the Network Connections folder. Here’s the quickest route:

1. Click Start.
2. Click Network. This opens the Network folder, which lists all available shared resources on your local network.
3. Click the Network Center button, which opens a new Control Panel window.
4. Click the Manage Network Connections link in the task pane on the left.

You’re now at a window that lists all available network connections on your computer.

(Update: In the comments, Chris Smith points out that you can open Network Center a few clicks quicker by just double-clicking the network icon in the tray.)

For quicker access next time, point to the icon at the left of the address bar (I’ve circled it in red below).

Click and drag that icon onto the Start button. You now have a shortcut that takes you directly to the Network Connections folder.

Want instant access to a specific connection icon? Drag the icon itself onto the Start button, or right-click the icon and choose Create Shortcut. In the latter case, your shortcut will show up on the desktop.