14 DAY TRIAL // When it comes down to the deadline for the general availability of Windows 7, Microsoft has been undeterred from its initial claims that the next iteration of the Windows client would ship within three years of Windows Vista's GA. However, this is not exactly the case, revealed a computer-industry executive from Asia. In fact, Microsoft seems keen to beat its three years from Vista GA estimate for the delivery of Windows 7. A report via Bloomberg indicates that the Redmond company is actually planning to wrap up Windows 7 well ahead of the 2009 holiday season, namely in the September – October 2009 time frame.
“According to current planning, it should be late September or early October,” revealed Ray Chen, president of Compal Electronics, a company from Taipei. And Chen is in a position to know. Microsoft is collaborating closely with its original equipment manufacturers with the development of Windows 7, emphasizing efforts superior to those made for Vista. Compal Electronics builds laptops for both Hewlett- Packard and Acer, OEMs that have undoubtedly let in at least on a vague Windows 7 product roadmap, more than can be said for the general public.
The Windows 7 delivery deadline indicated by Chen fits the roadmap leaked for the operating system at the start of this month by Lotta Bath, from the Microsoft Sweden Partner team. Bath also indicated that Windows 7 would be released to manufacturing in October 2009. However, RTM and GA are two entirely different milestones.
In fact, from Chen's report it is unclear whether or not he expects Windows 7 to RTM and to be served to OEMs in September/October 2009, or if either of the two months will mark the general availability of the platform. Because if indeed late September or early October is to witness the RTM of Windows 7, the operating system will take quite some time, up to a couple of months before it will hit the shelves.
Microsoft has released the first and only public Beta of Windows 7 on January 10, 2009, discontinuing serving the bits on February 12. At this point in time, the software giant is working on Release Candidate builds of Windows 7. The RC deadline has yet to be announced.