Windows 7 On Track For The Holidays, Maybe As Early As August

Microsoft has yet to confirm an actual release date of the upcoming operating system that has had the web a buzz since its beta release, but today executives have said they are confident that the OS will be ready in time for the upcoming holiday season.

"With early RC testing and extensive partner feedback we've received, Windows 7 is tracking well for holiday availability," Bill Veghte, senior vice president of the Windows Business at Microsoft, told attendees at the TechEd 2009 conference in Los Angeles.

These sentiments were later echoed by Windows 7 team member Brandon LeBlanc. In a blog post posted this afternoon LeBlanc said "If the telemetry we receive from the Windows 7 RC meets our expectations in terms of quality, then we expect to hit RTM in 3 months or so. Again, check out Steven’s blog post on this process. If this happens, it looks like we’ll be able to have Windows 7 done in time for the holidays."

Utilizing that statement and doing a little math you can figure that the RTM would be sent out in early August. Meaning if the Windows 7 goes RTM 3 months from today it would be around Aug. 11 and Windows 7 could go on sale and be available on new PCs as early as Oct. 11.

Windows 7 Upgrade Program:

As we mentioned back in January TechARP.com reported that Microsoft will unveil a program for Windows 7 that would be similar to their Vista Express Upgrade program which provided free or discounted Vista licenses to buyers of Windows XP in the months leading up to Vista's release.

TechARP has adjusted the availability date from July 1st to June 26, 2009, but they are still standing by the original reports. The June 26th availability date would make sense when factoring in the 3 month leeway from the date of last week's Release Candidate release to the RTM. That would mean OEM's would be offering the program a week or two before the RTM is shipped out, which is inline with the previous Vista program.