It turns out that that Microsoft didn’t have to do much work on the release candidate of Windows 7 that it rolled out in May, and this week the company has finalized the code and released it to manufacturing, along with the Windows Server 2008 update.
Rich Reynolds, general manager for Windows commercial marketing, said:
"Frankly, we didn’t anticipate any major changes, and that’s proven to be true. The code is ready for the masses."
On August 7, business that have Software Assurance contracts can download and start testing Windows 7; they might also be able to begin deployment of the OS. Volume Licensing customers will have access to Windows 7 from September 1. Trial versions will be available earlier at Microsoft’s Springboard online training and education site.