With the Release Candidate of Windows 7 available for public download, Microsoft has moved onward with the development of the operating system. The next stage in the evolution of the next iteration of the Windows client is RTM. Only after Windows 7 will be released to manufacturing will the platform hit the shelves, marking General Availability. A critical aspect of GA is the packagings for the retail versions of Windows 7. While Microsoft has yet to make public the official design for the Windows 7 retail boxes, there are box concepts available in the wild.

The Redmond company has yet to confirm or deny that the Windows 7 boxes from CentrumXP are real. Claims have indeed been made supporting their authenticity, but fact is that the designs have to be taken with a grain of salt, as there is no word from Microsoft supporting their validity. And chances are that they could be fake. The designs for Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate are featured in the images accompanying this article, along with the Anytime Upgrade boxes for Starter to Home Premium, Home Basic to Home Premium, Home Premium to Ultimate, and Home Premium to Professional.

The Windows 7 packagings style is the same as that for Windows Vista. If the images prove indeed to be real, it appears that Microsoft has opted to continue on the same line as that for Windows Vista, an easy way for the company to transmit to consumers that Windows 7 is an evolution of Vista. The actual design follows the simplicity of Vista's with minimal information delivered on the front end of the box – just the name of the operating system along with the traditional logo, the Microsoft trademark, and a stylized Windows logo. In this manner, the Windows 7 boxes are extremely similar to those of Vista.

Microsoft revealed Vista's packagings at the end of October 2006, a full three months before the operating system's GA deadline, which was in January 2007. The already finalized Windows 7 design concepts and boxes can only mean for Microsoft that the company is approaching RTM and GA at fast pace.

32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 (Release Candidate) RC Build 7100.0.090421-1700 is available for download here.