Microsoft issued its first patch for the just-released Windows 7 beta, but it passed on plugging a hole in an important file-sharing protocol that it fixed in older versions of the operating system.

Yesterday, Windows Update, Microsoft’s primary update service, began delivering the first patch to Windows 7 since the company struggled to launch the public beta last Friday. The update fixes a flaw that shaves several seconds of audio from any MP3 file that’s edited, including files modified automatically as users connect to the Internet.

“Without action on your part, all MP3 files that have large headers in your Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center libraries are likely to lose some audio,” Microsoft said in the support document it published Saturday, several days after it first posted the fix to its MSND and TechNet subscription services.

Before today, users who wanted to apply the fix had to find it, download it manually and install it themselves.

Microsoft also recommended that users back up all MP3 files before doing an upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista, and that they set all of them to “read-only” status by right-clicking each file in Windows Explorer and then clicking the General tab and selecting the “Read-only” box. Failing that, users should disable metadata automatic updates in Windows Media Player, Microsoft said.

We all know about the need to take breaks stave off muscle fatigue, but let’s face it: Hours can pass while we stay in the same keyboard, pounding on our keyboards. Smartfish Technologies is bringing a new, smarter keyboard to market in March. The wired keyboard, expected to sell for $150, automatically adjusts itself over the course of a day.

For every hour of work, the keyboard makes some movement; it adjusts side to side within a space of about 1.5 inches. It also flexes and extends up and down to help promote blood flow. After about 20,000 keystrokes, the keyboard will move more frequently to help further mix things up. The keys vary in size, because of the curve in the keyboard, and to promote variation among your typing movements.