The release of what is arguably Microsoft's most important product launch ever is likely to be forwarded by about five months. With the success of the numerous beta trials of Windows 7, the Redmond-based software giant could ship its next-generation operating system as early as August this year, reliable sources said.
"The Beta 2 version of Windows 7 is currently rolling, and all current licenses for Beta 2 are scheduled to roll till August," said a source, adding, "Microsoft generally announces shipments of its products a month or so before the beta licenses expire. Moreover, with the RC (release candidate) set to roll out anytime, the August rollout date is clearly a possibility going by feedback from Microsoft's project team at Redmond."
Officially, Microsoft has scheduled the public launch date of Windows 7 for January 2010. A Microsoft India spokesperson did not confirm or deny the information. "Microsoft is on track to release the Windows 7 RC to MSDN and TechNet subscribers on 30 April 2009, with broader public availability beginning May 5," the spokesperson said in an e-mailed response.
"The next step for Windows 7 is the RC (release candidate) which has to be tested and certified both internally and in the public domain before formal launch of shipments," the source added, noting that as of now, native bugs in Windows 7 have been fixed, although third party and environmental bugs are yet to be fully managed.
Microsoft's RC launches are typically accompanied by the RTC (Roll To Company) initiative, followed by the official rollout or RTM (Roll To Market). RTC marks an important date in Microsoft's calendar when the company shifts to a new OS internally, rolling it out across employee desktops.
Microsoft has so far negotiated a complex release program as it works its way through the Windows 7 development cycle -- the raw or 'alpha' builds of the operating system were released initially, and then the beta versions, backed up with a slew of pre-release builds to elicit user feedback.
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To test the OS for bugs in diverse enterprise environments, Microsoft has regularly released Windows 7 beta builds for both x86 and x64 computing versions. These builds have attracted thousands of downloads from enterprise IT managers and individuals worldwide. Microsoft has not furnished exact estimates of beta downloads on a monthly basis.
There have been apprehensions that if Redmond is not able to juice out adequate corporate interest in Windows 7, leading to slow uptake of the much-heralded operating system, the biggest beneficiaries would be Linux and Google’s Android. Fifty per cent of those surveyed by research firm Dimensional Research recently said that they have considered switching to a non-Windows OS to avoid Vista or Windows 7. Other surveys indicate that Windows 7 may not see substantial uptake in the enterprise until early 2011.