Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Windows x64
Does Microsoft already have a Windows 7 release candidate?
by Lee Mathews Feb 18th 2009 at 7:45AM
It's a bit early to say with any certainty at this point, but heere's what we know so far.
The last Windows 7 build ISO to leak onto torrent trackers was 7022.Winmain.090115-1850, which appears to have a timestamp of January 15, 2009 4:50PM. Following that leak, screenshots appeared of another build: 7032.0.winmain.090129-1812 (January 29, 6:12PM).
This morning, Softpedia has reported that the newest leak contains an interesting addition to the file name: 7048.winmain_win7rc1.090211-1625. While it's worth noting that the build was completed seven days ago, the more noteworthy change is the introduction of rc1 to the name.
Do those three characters mean Windows 7 is ahead of schedule?
Wzor.net - the same place that leaked the Office 14 screenshots - has already reported that Microsoft is anticipating an April 2009 release for RC1. If it's ready sooner, things bode well for Microsoft who would no doubt like to ship Windows 7 in advance of the 2009 holiday season.
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
The Vase said 8:33AM on 2-18-2009
Well, at least something looks bright for MS these days :)
...and yeah the momentum of releasing when everyone has their money "under control" - unlike holiday seasons, couldn't hurt too ;)
Cheers!
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Guess_Who said 8:33AM on 2-18-2009
No. It simply means they're building from the RC1 branch now.
They did this with Vista as well; builds leading up to beta 2 were branded as beta 2 even though they weren't the "official" beta 2, same with RC1.
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Dan said 12:39PM on 2-18-2009
Actually I think they changed their development strategy since Vista. Instead of forking off code for milestones they just always work on the 'trunk', so this could well be the build they want for rc1.
Todd said 8:35AM on 2-18-2009
No little fighting fish, I believe the ironic symbolism* of you being the Window 7 mascot will allow you to continue to appear all the way to the final release.
*Fighting fish get along with no one [ refuse to observe standards ]. Operate only in very narrow range of temperatures, otherwise die [ crash ].
From wikipedia entry:
"...Shopping for a fighting fish can be a discouraging experience, because due to poor training or indifference on the part of pet-store staff, fighting fish are commonly found displayed in water heavily contaminated with their own waste."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_fish
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Jon said 10:28AM on 2-18-2009
Also known as a "Beta" fish .. Win 7 Beta ....
hazard said 9:04PM on 2-18-2009
@Todd
LOL .. your anti MS sentiment is a persistent monotone
David said 8:47AM on 2-18-2009
Will the rc1 be free?
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bigsofty said 11:49AM on 2-18-2009
Who cares, its just Vista with a tweaked front end... how much you gonna pay for MS 'latest' upgrade?
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Demodave said 12:07PM on 2-18-2009
I'll certainly get it. Vista came preloaded on my ASUS laptop. I am looking forward to doing a clean install of 7 for the performance beneifts mainly. Vista is a dog...and those issues have been fixed in 7.
KeegdnaB said 12:42PM on 2-18-2009
how many times do we have to go through this.
XP was just 2000 with a tweaked frontend.
Leopard is just like every other version of OS X
Anthony said 3:18PM on 2-18-2009
Are you brain-dead?
Its not just a tweaked Vista, Its proven to be better than XP so shut-it!
boxeeftw said 1:37PM on 2-18-2009
@keegdnaB
Yes leopard looks similar accept that it actually provides an improved user experience, even on less than state of the art machines, unlike vista which killed all but the newest machines. But that is the idea behind a new os to improve the UI is it not. I think Windows 7 is better than vista, and i think that leopard is better than tiger, while neither necessarily breaks any new ground they each provide new features and an improved experience. Don't hate because you think its cool, its not.
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Jason said 1:54PM on 2-18-2009
XP was just 2000 with a tweaked frontend.
/facepalm
You might want to look at all of the changes under the hood there sport.
Jash Sayani said 2:05PM on 2-18-2009
Hi Lee,
When does the Beta 1 installation expire ?
And is there a patch to prevent it from expiring? Pls let me know or else I will have to create a backup image of my installation so that I can restore it on RC1 installation.
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Malteserr said 3:42PM on 2-18-2009
Your beta expires in August. It can be indefinitely extended using certain tools that you can torrent on tpb etc. But you should certainly upgrade to RC1 or even buy Windows 7 (I have a feeling both will be released before this August deadline on beta 1) simply because of all the bugfixes and improvements.
Jash Sayani said 4:09PM on 2-18-2009
@Malteserr: Thanks for your reply. I am not sure if the patches are clean. It would be better to manually modify the registry. I am looking for a hack....
I agree that upgrading to RC would be better, but it would have to be a clean install as MS had said that Beta cannot be upgraded to RC. And I don't have to time for a fresh install any time in these months. Besides, beta works well for me, for a year atleast...
Mysterius said 5:26PM on 2-18-2009
@Jash Sayani: The official information is that the Beta cannot be upgraded directly to the final release, but they recommend you upgrade to intermediate releases before then (presumably the RC). I assume this means you will be able to go Beta->RC->RTM.