So the previously thought RTM date didn’t happen but Mary Jo Foley apparently has the official scoop on dates from Microsoft on when Windows 7 will hit the streets. So who gets it and when?
OEMs: Two days after RTM
ISVs and IHV partners: August 6 (downloadable via Microsoft Connect or MSDN)
Microsoft Gold certified resellers: August 16 (downloadable from the partner portal in English only); October 1 (other language)
TechNet subscribers: August 6 (English only); October 1 (other languages)
MSDN subscribers: August 6 (English only); October 1 (other languages)
Microsoft “Action Pack” subscribers: August 23 (English only); October 1 (remaining languages)
Volume licensees with existing Software Assurance license: August 7 (downloadable from the Volume License Service Center in English); a couple of weeks after that for other languages. (So my original post on when business users would get Windows 7 wasn’t really wrong, after all. Glad we cleared that up. Not!)
Volume licensees without a Software Assurance license: September 1 (downloadable from the Volume License Service Center)
Consumers: General availability begins October 22. Retailers and OEMs will be offering new systems preloaded with Windows 7 and copies of Windows 7 at retail on that day.
Oddly, while Microsoft has stated the above dates it still hasn’t released the official RTM date.
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