Microsoft has made yet another step forward in the evolution of Windows 7, past the Milestone 1 and Milestone 2 builds already available, with M1 even leaked outside of the testing program. In this regard, Windows 7 Build 6780 Milestone 3 is live. The Redmond giant has failed to confirm any detail related to the actual development milestones of Windows Vista's successor. But while the company's official mouthpieces remain mute, the members of the Windows 7 select testing pool have indicated that M1 and M2 are things of the past, as M3 is now moving to center stage.

Microsoft is, of course, preparing for the Windows 7 roadshow consisting of a variety of events in the October-November timeframe including the Professional Developer Conference 2008, Windows Hardware Engineering Conference 2008 and TechEd EMEA 2008. According to UXEvangelist and WinSuperSite, Windows 7 M3 Build 6780 is no longer a simple, internal variant of the next iteration of Windows, as it was shipped outside of Redmond to the company's closest partners.

The software giant already indicated that PDC2008, WinHEC 2008 and TechEd EMEA 2008 would be all focused on Windows 7. Still, the company is not breathing a single word about Windows 7 Beta 1 which is reportedly due by the end of 2008, with a possible release in mid-December. At the same time, InternetNews revealed that Windows 7 Beta 1 would be made available on the first day of PDC2008, namely October 27, while the RTM version of the operating system would be delivered on June 3, 2009. Microsoft has not commented in any manner on these release dates.

As early as February 2008, Microsoft (now part time) Chairman Bill Gates revealed plans to incorporate the Fluent/Ribbon graphical user interface throughout the default components of Windows 7. In M3, the Office 2007-specific GUI has made it into applications such as Paint and WordPad. Microsoft has also catalyzed the evolution of the Windows Sidebar, Windows Media Player, Calculator and the integration with Windows Live.

Windows 7 M3 Build 6780, though only a step towards the first Beta version of the operating system, is even at this early stage reported to be stable and very usable, although the Windows Vista legacy is still present both in terms of visual style and functionality.