14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, just days after Windows 7 was released to manufacturing, Microsoft started handing the gold bits to original equipment manufacturers. At the bottom of this article, I have included a variety of images featuring representatives from many PC manufacturers around the world getting Windows 7 RTM Build 7600.16385 directly from Microsoft in Redmond (the comments associated with each image are courtesy of Microsoft).
This is somewhat of a tradition with the software giant and, this year, with the RTM of Windows 7, the company decided to share it with the public. In case you have ever wondered just what exactly OEMs are getting from Microsoft, now you have the answer.
“When we announced Windows 7 had RTM’d on Wednesday, I posted that OEMs would receive the RTM code within a few days. Well, it’s been a few days! Earlier [on July 25], a handful of OEMs arrived in Redmond to pick up their RTM code,” said Brandon LeBlanc, Windows communications manager on the Windows Client Communications Team. As you will be able to see, there are representatives from HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Dell, Sony and Fujitsu-Siemens being handed Windows 7 RTM copies.
July 22 marked the official RTM for Windows 7 even though Build 7600.16385 had been compiled since July 13. While OEMs are only starting to get Windows Vista's successor, the bits have already leaked in the wild and are available for download. Still, since Windows 7 RTM cannot be activated legally, the best course of action for users is to wait for October 22, 2009, when the operating system will be generally available and use Release Candidate Build 7100 in the meantime.
“In the past when a Windows release reaches RTM, we have traditionally given some/selected OEMs the opportunity to come to Redmond and pick up the RTM code personally. I thought it would be neat to showcase these OEMs that came to campus today as the RTM code is handed off to them to begin preparing for General Availability (GA) on October 22, 2009,” LeBlanc added.
