Microsoft is expecting to have Windows 7 on shipping PC’s by September of 2009. If it is not in September it will be available in early October. This allows Microsoft to finish, manufacture and deliver Windows 7 well ahead of the holidays. It also corroborates work of an April release candidate.
Compaq builds systems on behalf of Acer, HP and other major PC Makers. A spokeswoman for Microsoft maintains the official company position that Windows 7 will be available within three years of when Vista shipped. But with the programs upgrade program plans and other leaks have increasingly suggested that the public goal, which would put the release date in early 2010. That is deliberately conservative and meant to avoid embarrassment in the event of an unexpected delay. Microsoft acknowledged that there was a shortened development track that includes just one public beta and one readily available release candidate before the ship date.
Even though Windows 7 has been proven to be stable in testing the company is under a lot of pressure to release it this year. One of the more significant declines in Windows revenue surfaced in Microsoft’s most recent financial quarter as there still was hesitation over Vista as well as a preference for Windows XP in netbooks have both hurt the company’s core business. With Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate it improves both performance and user interface elements, it is explicitly designed to run more smoothly on netbook-level hardware.
