Windows 7 RTM Next, RC Last Testing Phase

Make no mistake about it, Windows 7 Release Candidate is the last testing phase of the operating system. Bill Veghte, Senior Vice President for the Windows Business, confirmed officially that Microsoft planned to deliver no additional development milestones for the next iteration of Windows. In this context, Windows 7 will move straight from Release Candidate to RTM state. The software giant has yet to deliver the deadline when it plans to release Windows 7 to manufacturing. Still, the company emphasized on more than one occasion that RTM and GA milestones were driven by quality.

“Today, Microsoft announced the release of the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC). Today's RC milestone means the highly anticipated Windows 7 operating system it entering its final testing phase and is the latest step on the path to final delivery. With quality as the number one priority, Windows 7 is on track to be the highest quality Windows release ever,” Microsoft revealed.

In the video embedded bellow, Veghte provides an update on Windows 7 Build 7100 RC. Today, April 30, 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7 RC client and Windows Server 2008 R2 RC on MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Public availability is planned for May 5.

“The beta of Windows 7 shows significant promise, and most IT operations professionals are looking forward to its availability and eventual enterprise deployment ... start preparing for it now, and the best way to prepare for Windows 7 is by deploying Windows Vista. Short of that, begin testing your applications and hardware for compatibility against Windows Vista; it will pay off with greater compatibility with Windows 7,” stated Forrester Research analyst Ben Gray.

According to Microsoft, over 10,000 companies around the world are already testing their hardware and software products on Windows 7 in order to guarantee full compatibility and support when the platform is released. Following RC, Windows 7 will move into RTM and only after the operating system is released to manufacturing will it become generally available.

“Windows 7 will enable consumers to simplify their PC experience and have their PC work the way they want. For businesses it enables employees to be productive anywhere and deliver enhanced security at a lower cost,” the company added.