Microsoft is expected to issue a beta version of Windows 7 next month called Build 7000. But patience isn’t one of the virtues of the Windows community. So it is hardly a surprise that pirated copies of the so-called Build 7000 have been leaked onto BitTorrent with thousands of downloads already completed over the weekend. If you don’t want to download the 2.44GB file said to contain the disk image of the 32-bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate, Build 7000, you can examine screen shots and read reviews from numerous bloggers who have done the work for you. Paul Thurrott has posted a review and screen shots of Build 7000 today on his “SuperSite for Windows” site, and he is convinced that this file is indeed the beta build that Microsoft has vaguely promised to release to all users sometime soon.
According to Thurrott:
“The Beta version of Windows 7 (Build 7000) that Microsoft will later deliver to tech beta testers and then, in January, to the public, is nothing more than a very finely tweaked version of the various post-M3 (Milestone 3, or build 6801–see my lengthy overview of that build) builds I’ve been using since October. In fact, there is almost no difference at all between this version of Windows 7 and M3, assuming you’ve enabled all the hidden M3 features using Rafael Rivera’s ‘Blue Badge’ tool.”
Some believe that Microsoft will be releasing the beta to a wider group of testers — if not to the public — as early as January 7 when CEO Steve Ballmer will deliver the keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
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