Windows 7 RTM to be available by 6th August

OEMs, developers, beta testers, and IT professionals to get the first taste of Windows 7

Windows 7 RTM to be ready by August 6th

According to a blog posted on Windows official blog website, it is clear that the RTM version of Windows 7 will be available to OEMs, developers, beta testers, and IT professionals from 6^th August onwards. The exact availability dates are given below:

·         For Partners and OEMs – ISV (Independent software vendor) and IHV (Independent hardware vendor) partners will be able to download Windows 7 RTM from Microsoft Connect or MSDN on August 6th. Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified Members will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English through the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Portal on August 16^th. Windows 7 will be available in other languages from October 1^st onwards. Microsoft Action Pack Subscribers will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 23rd. OEMs will receive Windows 7 RTM software images approximately 2 days after the official announcement of RTM.

·         For Business customers – A Volume License (VL) customer with an existing Software Assurance (SA) license will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 7^th via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC), while customers without a SA license will be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing on September 1^st.

·         For IT professionals – Those who have TechNet subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6^th and remaining languages by October 1^st.

·         For Developers – Developers with MSDN Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6^th and remaining languages by October 1^st.

·         For Beta testers – Those who have a TechNet account will be able to download the RTM in English on August 6^th and remaining languages by October 1^st.

·         For Consumers – It will be available in retail stores and will ship on new PCs from October 22^nd onwards. Consumers who have pre-ordered a copy of Windows 7 will also receive it after October 22^nd.

Users can use the Windows 7 RC (release candidate) until it expires on June 1st, 2010 (expiration actually starts March 1, 2010, this is when the reboots start).