Windows 7 release date: October, 2009?

If you have been toying with the idea of cutting your users over to Vista as part of a PC refresh, you may want to hold that thought. In less than a year, Windows 7 will likely be available. The word on the blogosphere is that Windows 7 should be released to manufacturing in October 2009 with general availability by November. Blogger Long Zheng has come to this release-date conclusion and says that he's been given the nod by an unnamed source at Microsoft who validated his guess. Zheng sites two sources for his guess. Today the WinHEC 2008 site boldly says that Windows 7 will be released before the next annual WinHEC. ("WinHEC is the only chance for you to engage with the team at this level – there is not another WinHEC planned before Windows 7 is released," it says). Also ASUS CEO Jerry Shen said in an interview with Laptop magazine that Eee PCs should be running Windows 7 by the second half of next year.

Actually, there is nothing in these statements that indicates that Windows 7 will be released to manufacturing as late in the year as October. From these statements alone it could be out earlier, like late summer. In any case, Microsoft will certainly be more forthcoming with its release plans soon. In fact, by the time we usher in 2009, we could be singing some new words to the traditional New Year's tune Auld Lang Syne that goes something like this.

Let old OSes be forgot and never brought to mind?
For old Vista is now gone and Windows 7 near.

Microsoft had better get a move on with Windows 7 or else 2009 could be the year the corporate world will not only be saying good-bye to XP and Vista but to Windows altogether in favor of Mac OS X or Linux.

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10 questions for Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 guy, Jason Hermitage
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