Microsoft has announced that it will ship Windows 7 to customers worldwide on October 22.
Worldwide release set for October 22
At the same time the company will offer an upgrade service called the Windows Upgrade Option to current Windows users, Microsoft said. More details about that programme will be revealed during a keynote by Microsoft Corporate Vice President Steve Guggenheimer at Computex in Taipei today.
Microsoft previously said it would release both the consumer and business versions of Windows 7 in time for the year-end holiday shopping season. A release candidate of the OS already has been distributed through Microsoft's update service and has received generally positive reviews by users.
Windows 7 is the follow-up to Windows Vista, which overall has been a disappointment for Microsoft and not very popular with business users or consumers.
Microsoft has said all versions of Windows 7 will run on PCs and laptops as well as increasingly popular netbooks, which currently are running either Windows XP or Linux because Vista's hardware footprint was too big to run reliably on them.
See also:
Windows 7 video guide
Comments
Clifford Davis said: To the many who thinkprofess that Vista is a piece of crap BALONEY I have used Vist Ultimate in my office environment 8 systems since its release One of the most stable platforms I have ever used on a desktop I have recently upgrade my server to the 2008 Small Business version and it is superb Win 7 is an improvement in many ways not much if any more reliable It is faster but all of the available AV offerings degrade its performance noticeably I am running a test system usinv native firewall and defender and it really performs well If you are among those that gripe about UACget over it It serves a critical function
redstringuitar said: Sounds more like a service pack when you put it that way but then again 7 is little more than that isnt it A service pack is a fix or several thereof offered on the fly in order to eradicate bugs andor vulnerabilities in an existing OSWindows 7 is a leap rather than a step in software developmentbut it still contains features that were available in all previous MS releasesThe label is merely an indicator its whats in the tin that counts
Blip Blap said: Im finding that Win7 runs better than XP My overall experience with it as been excellent
Skidz said: Of course Windows 7 is built on Vista thats how software development works they keep the good features fix the bad iron out the bugs and issues introduce new features which may or may not be linked to hardware development improve the UI and appearance and voila new OSSounds more like a service pack when you put it that way but then again 7 is little more than that isnt it
redstringuitar said: Of course Windows 7 is built on Vista thats how software development works they keep the good features fix the bad iron out the bugs and issues introduce new features which may or may not be linked to hardware development improve the UI and appearance and voila new OSWhen the motoring industry produces a new model of car you dont complain about it having the same number of wheels as the previous version do youIve been running W7 for a number of weeks and its a great OSits everything Vista should have been and then some
bill rates said: There are far too many idiots here claiming 7 is great and vista is a piece of crap Incase you didnt know underneath windows 7 IS essentially just vista- its just been improved to stand out from xp alot more and given a new badge windows 7 or whatever name they will eventually go with If windows 7 had come out instead of vista people would still be complaining over 7 the bottom line was vistas interface was not different enough to xp I fear when 7 is released many will still stick with xp and even vista Unfortunately for xp users they may be prone to people trying to take advantage of an aging program with its vulnabilaties when connected to the net
John Dee said: Ive been using Windows 7 RC1 for a few weeks now having clean-installed from using Windows XP Pro and Im very impressed my software and games run just as well as on XP although EAX surround sound when running games is no longer available but hopefully a version of Alchemy will be available for Windows 7 to address thisAs for buying a copy - price will be the issue here and I dont see the world recession ending by October and if Windows 7 is priced the same as Vista then Ill Re-install my copy of XP and use that for the foreseable future
Markybhoy said: Been running Vista for over a year now and not one problem Think folk jump on the anti-Microsoft band wagon too easilyLooking forward to Windows 7 from what others have been saying interests meI am not a person frightened of progress and although Windows XP was a brilliant OS lets move forward Windows 2K was better than 98 and 98 was okaywe could all live in the past and keep telling other how bad Vista iswhen it isnt Windows 7 does promise to be better progress
Anthony said: Fair upgrade price is only for starters Then we all have the cost of having to update software and possibly hardware in order to utilise the OS plus the usual driver issues This is too much like deja vu not long after the last dose of deja vu Not for me methinks
Roble said: Using the Release candidate for over a week now after upgrading from Vista SP2 So far it seems a big big improvement over Vista Since Vista was rewally clunky hopefully the dove and olive branch on the wallpaper isnt the only gesture of peace and goodwill to be extended and upgrade price will be fair
bob said: I am a big fan of XP and did not upgrade to vista as I think it is a piece of crap I have been using windows 7 for the last three weeks after downloading it from microsoft site and have to say I am very impressed with it This one is far better than vista it works
steveb said: And now all the PC mags will start fawning over MSoft and Windows 7 just like they did over VistaTheres no credibility in republishing propaganda
neal guttridge said: If widows 7 is better than vista then fantastic I still believe xp with tweaking is the best operating system windows developed
ryan s said: and yet windows live mail is one thing i find easier than windows mail or outlook and MS dont force it on you either with 7 personally im very impressed with how 7 runs on both desktop and laptop the only problem i have at the moment is creative havent had the brains to get their drivers working properly for the x-fi half my games with the x-fi option in game cant find the card and activate all the extra sounds and make the game sound that little bit better still very impressed by microsofts efforts its good to see they have finally listened to their customers for a change
Bob Sullivan said: I have been looking at the Windows 7 RC1 download on my computer which I find very good The only disappointment is Live Mail which is no where near as easy as Windows Mail in Vista The deccision to call SendReceive by the name of Sync is stupid
skidz said: they wont be shipping it to me thats for sure
Silly Billy said: Ha they seen you coming
Ade_J said: So wheres the free upgrade for those customers that paid the extortionate price for Vista Ultimate but didnt actually get any of the promised extras