Microsoft announced yesterday that Windows 7 will be released for standalone sale on October 22nd, 2009 (yes, that’s 2009…). Microsoft also announced that they “will make available an upgrade option, so partners can offer customers the ability to purchase a Windows Vista-based PC and install Windows 7 when it’s ready”, however the effective start date for this program has yet to be revealed…
For the enterprise, Microsoft is working hard to pair Windows Server 2008 R2 with Windows 7 to help admins enable all of the remote functionality of Win 7, particularly for road warriors.
“With the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, companies of all sizes will get big improvements in virtualization, Web and management,” he says. “These areas, along with several features that improve scalability and reliability, help deliver a strong value proposition on the server side to complement Windows 7.”
If you haven’t downloaded the Windows 7 Release Candidate yet, you can download the limited time eval version here.
As always, unlimited eval versions of all Microsoft products are available through Technet Plus Direct
The Technet Windows 7 RC Center has previews and videos available as well.
* Here at the Petri Knowledgebase, we’ll be continuing to build out our Windows 7 category, so be sure to watch for ongoing updates in this category over the summer!