It's Official: Microsoft To Launch Windows 7 RC April 30
In a Friday afternoon blog post, Brandon LeBlanc, a communications manager on the Windows Client Communications Team, noted the abundance of recent Windows 7 Release Candidate-related chatter within the Microsoft enthusiast community and thanked beta testers for their feedback reports, which at one point were flowing in at a rate of one every 15 seconds.
In Microsoft parlance, Release Candidate refers to a near-final test build that is essentially complete, but needs a bit more time for testers to kick the tires to ensure that no 'showstopper' bugs remain.
Microsoft says it plans to release the final version of Windows 7 sometime in its 2010 fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30, 2010. The fact that Windows 7 has reached RC stage suggests that Microsoft is well on track to release Windows 7 in time for OEMs to load it on new PCs in time for the holiday season, which it was unable to do with Windows Vista.
Microsoft's hand may have been forced a bit by a Thursday report by the enthusiast blog Neowin which said Microsoft had finished work on Windows 7 build 7100 and was preparing to offer it as the official Windows 7 Release Candidate. On Friday, Neowin reported that Windows 7 build 7100 had begun circulating on Torrent sites.