PaulSpoerry.com

Earlier today GeekSmack.net “confirmed” that Windows 7 was set to RTM (release to manufacturing) on July 13. This coincides with Wzor’s “unconfirmed” rumor last month. A few minutes ago sources close to the company confirmed to Neowin that Windows 7 is indeed set to RTM on July 13. The date, July 13, also coincides with the kickoff of the Worldwide Partner Conference that is taking place in New Orleans.

Note: RTM and GA (General Availability) are two totally different phases. RTM is typically the final build before Windows 7 hits general availability later this year. RTM is provided to manufacturers so they can work out any bugs with hardware devices. General availability is scheduled to launch on October 22. RTM DOES mean that those with subscriptions to TechNet, MSDN, etc will be getting the RTM build on July 13th!

Firefox 3.5: Earlier today LifeHacker mentioned that Firefox 3.5 could be pushed out as an official release as soon as Tuesday, June 30. Now PC Magazine is reporting that Mozilla has officially confirmed the Tuesday release. Among other additions, Firefox 3.5 will include a Private Browsing Mode to hide browser activity, a JavaScript engine known as TraceMonkey, new location services, and HTML5 support.

The Upgrade for WIndows 7 is available on Amazon.com as well as the Microsoft Store for Pre-Order.  Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade will only cost you $49.99, a savings of $70 from the suggested $120. Windows 7 Professional Upgrade will set you back $99.99 for a savings of $100. All versions of Windows 7 will be available starting on Oct. 22, 2009. While initial reports say that Win7 is extremely stable and should run on a wide variety of hardware you can ensure sure your PC is compatible with Windows 7 by grabbing Microsoft’s Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Windows 7 installation disks will contain both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Windows… so no matter which you version purchase it will install on your PC.

You can purchase the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade for $49.99 or Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade for $99.99 from Amazon or through the Microsoft Store.

Firefox 3.5 can tell websites where you’re located so you can find info that’s more relevant and more useful.

Last month Google reserved an additional 1 million phone numbers with Level 3, who has been providing numbers for Google Voice since it was announced. Many are speculating it’s release to the world in general is eminent. A public launch has been anticipated since Google said in March the service would be “open to new users soon.” Many believed the new numbers would be unleashed on June 18th, but Google Voice Product Manager Craig Walker quickly dispelled that on his own Twitter stream.

Google Voice is the re-branded GrandCentral. Google Voice provides a lot of the functionality of a full blown PBX and wraps it all into a user friendly interface. Many believe it will provide “One Number To Rule Them All” where you have a single number that rings any or all of your phone. You can also decided which calls go to which numbers, screen incoming calls, use SMS, and have your voicemails transcribed and sent to you (though this isn’t 100% perfect it works pretty darn well). The full list of features can be found on the Google Voice “About” page.

Last week, TechCrunch reported that Google would add number portability later this year to Google Voice, which would let users keep one of their existing phone numbers as their Google Voice number. For example, users could make their cell phone number their Google Voice number.

I don’t know that 1 million numbers is enough to satisfy the demand for users wanting to get their hands on Google Voice, especially once number portability is integrated. I know people who check almost daily in an attempt to get a Google Voice account (lucky for me I’ve had an account since it was known as Grand Central). What we may be seeing is Google ramping up for the first round of public beta’s. Perhaps they will do like GMail and let the first 1 million number out, and then only additional numbers via invites from existing users. We’ll see soon enough as Google seems to be adding more and more features and gearing up for some type of release in the near future.