Microsoft's Windows 7 gets released to manufacturing
By Darren Murph 
posted July 22nd 2009 4:55PM
posted July 22nd 2009 4:55PM
"The RTM code will be delivered to our partners within the next few days who will then start preparing to deliver some amazing new products timed to hit at General Availability (GA) of Windows 7 on October 22nd. As always, current Windows Volume License customers, MSDN subscribers and TechNet subscribers will get first customer access, getting Windows 7 on August 6 (MSDN/TechNet) and August 7 (VL), and Windows Server 2008 R2 the second half of August."So, there you have it -- now, are you prepared to wait until early August to get your download on? Nah, we thought not. The full announcement is posted after the break.
Update: Looks like some Microsoft employees were so excited by the RTM sign-off that they made a celebratory video. See it for yourself just after the break!
Title: Windows 7 Has Been Released to Manufacturing
Steven Sinofsky, President of the Windows Division, has just announced on the Engineering Windows 7 Blog that Windows 7 has reached the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) milestone.
As I mentioned previously, RTM officially happens only after sign-off occurs. What happens is a build gets designated as a RTM contender after going through significant testing and meeting our quality bar for RTM. Then, it goes though all the validation checks required for RTM including having all languages of that build completed. If all the validation checks have passed – sign-off for RTM can occur. Today after all the validation checks were met, we signed off and declared build 7600.16385 as RTM.
Also happening very shortly, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will get on stage for his keynote address to the Microsoft field community at MGX in Atlanta. MGX is an internal Microsoft event held every year. This is where we bring in our folks in the field from around the world and talk about selling Microsoft's latest products. We're a global company and this event is super important to us. As you can imagine, Windows 7 is a hot topic at this year's MGX and we're anxious to hear what Steve has to say, and I will update that here.
Not only is RTM an important milestone for us – it's also an important milestone for our partners. Today's release is the result of hard work and collaboration with our partners in the industry to make Windows 7 a success. We delivered Windows 7 with predictable feature set on a predictable timetable that allowed OEMs to focus on value and differentiation for their customers.
Our customers told us what they want (and expect) and we defined those specific experiences and then built features to support them (like HomeGroup and the Windows Taskbar enhancements). Our customers also told us that "fundamentals" on both the hardware and software side was extremely important. Windows 7 today runs great on the broadest array of hardware types ranging from netbooks to the high end gaming machines. We worked closely with OEMs so that their PCs ignite features in Windows 7 to excite their customers.
Of course, today's release is also the result of the amazing amount of feedback we received from the millions of people who tested Windows 7 – from Beta to RC. We actually had over 10 million people opt-in to the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). That's a lot of people opting in to help us make Windows 7 a solid release. Through CEIP, our engineers were guided by customer feedback all the way to RTM. We also have had a great group of beta testers who have dedicated a great deal of their time to testing Windows 7 too. A special thank you goes out to all the people who helped test Windows 7.
I'd also like to give a shout-out to my friends over on the Windows Server Team. Today they are also announcing that Windows Server 2008 R2 has RTM'd. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 together can help businesses cut costs and increase productivity. Click here to read their blog post on Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM.
The RTM code will be delivered to our partners within the next few days who will then start preparing to deliver some amazing new products timed to hit at General Availability (GA) of Windows 7. And going forward, I expect to be showcasing MANY of these new products here on The Windows Blog.
We continue to be overwhelmed at the community's response to Windows 7 and it has been an extremely rewarding experience to witness. We hope the enthusiasm will continue to grow even more as our partners build amazing experiences with their products and Windows 7.
My Thinkpad came with Vista. I used it for a week and it made me sad to experience how bloated it felt. I then downloaded and installed Win 7 RC, and it now runs smooth like butter. Some say that one should give Vista a chance, and that it makes little difference. To me, it made a huge difference. I would never go back to Vista, and I also wouldn't go back to XP. XP now looks, feels, and operates in a very dated way. No thank you.
Can't wait for this to hit retail shelves.
It's mine on Day 1.
Best OS, period.
The only thing that bothers me is that Windows 7 will be the first-ever consumer release of Windows not to feature new desktop icons (Computer, Documents, etc.) and startup/shutdown sounds. (Even Win95 -> Win98 saw some very visible changes.)
It just seems lazy on Microsoft's part. Realistically, it's not big deal (Apple has used the same startup sound since... 1994 or so?), but it just gives Win7 a somewhat "unfinished" feel.
I can't wait to leave my glossy CrapBook behind get W7 going on my T400s.
Windows networking, the guy with the beard is who I should complain too about the still terrible networking working options. And the " turn on network discovery" that never turns on. But under xp networking was fine, seems they have over complicated it, by trying to make it easier
Homegroup doesn't work for me no matter what I do, 2 computers that I have assigned Ips, both sharing, both under WORKGROUP and no homegroup works =/
that aside, I like windows 7 its a big improvement
Home Groups work it's just you have to choose the "right" password. basically if you make try to use your own password there is a chance that it won't work.
Are these computers all running Windows 7? I could be wrong, but does homegroup only work with computer running Windows 7?
I've been running the RC since it was available and i like it just fine. The big competitor here though is XP. Theres nothing I can do using 7 that I couldn't do with XP. But hey it sure is shiny.
Could I get a link to the background
provided my own link for anyone else who may have been looking for the background..
[URL=http://img33.imageshack.us/i/winwall705728large.jpg/][IMG]http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1697/winwall705728large.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
The original article does not contain the full build string???
So why did you change it?
I don't know why they did that but the rtm build is 7600.16385.
You can get the torrent from sites like demonoid and isohunt right now.
i have the windows 7 RC running on my netbook with 512mb of ram!
it runs pretty fast
i have also preordered it for my desktop
can't wait for october 22nd!
i like windows 7, but it doesnt pick up ANY of the drivers for my logitech quickcam chat, my logitech g5, or my lexmark x7350 all-in-one printer,.......kinda sucks when you cant print up documents **tear**
digitallysick
I'm running 7, Vista and XP all on the same network.. I've had no problems. Though, I'd say I liked the network controls in XP
much better.
Microsoft should trademark CrapOS. You fanboys are hilarious. Are your panties wet yet?
im just going to buy a mac instead, i don't trust windows anymore- not after vista!!!!!