Windows 7 RC1
The Release Candidate (RC1) of Windows 7 has been around for a few weeks now, and we’ve been checking it out.
The RC1 (build 7100) has a few changes since the public beta (build 7000) from January, and is mostly tweaked and improved. Compared to other RC1 releases (especially Vista), this is an incredibly stable piece of software. It’s not quite perfect yet, so I wouldn’t recommend it to your Grandma for her first PC – but it should be absolutely fine for most users who want to try this exciting new OS out.
It’s still a lot more stable than Vista, a lot more intuitive, and seems to be a lot faster. XP still has a lot of advantages compared to both Windows 7 and Vista, but in terms of features and security, Win7 really looks like a worthwhile upgrade. Finally, people (like me) who refused to go to Vista can upgrade in confidence.
Let’s just hope that Microsoft have learned the lesson from the Vista launch, and let everyone use it from the start. A staggered initial business-only launch hurt consumer adoption, as people couldn’t even buy it if they wanted to! Also, they aren’t hyping up Win7 as the amazing next-big thing, which they did with Vista, then when it turned out to be “passable” or “adquate”, people were hurt and rejected the upgrade. Now they’re being reserved and honest, letting people figure it out for themselves.
RC1 will expire on June 1st 2010, whilst old Beta 1 installations will expire August 1st this year. Final release is expected any time in the 2nd half of this year – Microsoft say in time for Christmas shopping, and Paul Thurrot cites a precise date of October 1st.
In related news, the new branding for Windows 7 (right) was leaked out by Microsoft China during their RC1 launch event. Let us know what you think!
Check out Windows 7 RC1 for yourself here.
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