Free Windows Vista RC1 Available from Microsoft

Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 is still available from Microsoft even if it is just one month away from expiration. Microsoft does not seem to be affected by the fact that Vista RC1 is just one month away of sinking into a state of perpetual reboots, separated by a couple of hours and continues to offer the version of the operating system.

At the end of March, Cori Hartje, director of the Microsoft Genuine Software Initiative gave Windows Vista testers a heads up to the imminent expiration of their Vista Copies. "As a reminder to those that helped with Windows Vista beta testing, the beta installations are set to expire at the end of May 2007. So customers need to decide if they want to move to Windows Vista or back to Windows XP if they have test versions of Windows Vista on their PCs," Hartje advised.

"On 31 May 2007, all Customer Preview Program (CPP) pre-release versions of Windows Vista will expire. If you are running a pre-release version of Windows Vista (Beta 2, RC1 or RC2), you will begin to receive warning notifications about the upcoming expiration on 18 May. To avoid work disruption and loss of data, we strongly recommend that customers running any of these pre-release versions of Windows Vista migrate their PCs to the final version of Windows Vista prior to 31 May," advised Nick White, Microsoft Program Manager at the end of April.

Still, Microsoft's Windows Vista Partner Demo Readiness Toolkit includes to this date the Windows Vista RC1 operating system and Microsoft Office Professional 2007 Beta 2. The toolkit was made available as early as February 2007, but at that time, the expiration date of the operating system posed no problems. However, Microsoft is now offering an updated version of the Windows Vista Partner Demo Readiness Toolkit, meaning that although RC1 is still a valid option, the company encourages users to opt for Vista RTM.

"Now you can create your own Demo Readiness Toolkit (DRT) on the latest release of Windows Vista. Using the Windows Vista Demo Setup Guide, downloadable content, and demo scripts, you can customize a demo that uniquely features your product with the Windows Vista operating system. You can also set up and exhibit demos right on your own machine, eliminating the need for a dedicated demo PC," reads a fragment of the DRT description.