Microsoft announced MSDN and TechNet subscribers will get first crack at the Windows 7 release candidate (RC) on April 30, with an official public RC release scheduled for release on May 5.
"I'm pleased to share that the RC is on track for April 30th for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers," according to the Windows Team blog. "Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th."
Windows 7 previously was beta tested by users, and the RC is the last critical prerelease before the software's official release.
Microsoft hopes to have its latest OS officially released sometime in late summer, in time for the back to school and holiday shopping seasons. Since Microsoft still has a stranglehold on pre-loading its software on many PCs and notebooks sold through brick and mortar retailers, it's vital for the Redmond-based company to have an OS prior to the fall.
Considering what a massive flop Windows Vista turned out to be, Microsoft is said to be working quickly and diligently to make sure Windows 7 offers all the changes users expected from Vista. It's understandable Microsoft wants to release its latest before fall, but it's possible it could be pushed back until early 2010.
Despite a global economy that has hurt hardware sales, Microsoft simply is unable to wait to release Windows 7 the same way it waited for the Vista release. Furthermore, Microsoft is working to try and compete against netbooks -- small, low-cost devices -- that normally feature Linux operating systems, or the older Windows XP OS that Microsoft makes less money off of.
Vista, which had extremely high memory requirements and was incompatible with some hardware, has been fixed in the Windows 7 RC. Early reviews from beta testers show a promising OS that has received good reviews, especially compared to Vista beta reviews.
