Reports: Windows 7 Releasing This Year

News
By Marcus Yam
published

With the warm reception and the solid feel of the Windows 7 public beta, most are expecting the new operating system from Microsoft sooner rather than later. Microsoft, however, has remained tight-lipped on any earlier-than-expected release date, even hedging that we may not see it until 2010.

Microsoft has told everyone that Windows 7 may not ship until early 2010, but we’re starting to see signs pointing to a release that will happen sometime this year. Granted, the original date the software giant gave was for 2010, and it would be foolish for the company to promise a new date if it is still unsure if it can deliver.

Even at CES 2009, just when Microsoft announced the Windows 7 public beta, Windows executive Bill Veghte said regarding either a 2009 or 2010 release, “I'm telling them that it could go either way. ... We will ship it when the quality is right, and earlier is always better, but not at the cost of ecosystem support and not at the cost of quality.”

The Inquirer points to a webcast where Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich said that Windows 7 would be sent to manufacture three years after Vista did the same, which was in October 2006. Of course, that could be an approximate ballpark date, but it does lend hope for those who really want Windows 7 in time for Christmas.

CNet cites PC industry sources as saying that they have heard that Windows 7 is on track for a holiday release, which is what OEMs want as it would help boost sales of new computers.

It’s hard to see Windows 7 not being ready for consumption for another 10 months. The public beta that some enthusiasts are running as their primary OS is set to expire on August 1, 2009. It would be an all-too-perfect situation if those users would be able to transfer from the beta version to the final version, though expecting Windows 7 to be in a retail box by summer might be a little optimistic.

Still, the evidence is growing. Just last week we saw an early proposal for the free upgrade program for those who purchase a Vista-equipped machine after July 1, 2009.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • FrustratedRhino
    So this is more of a "people want it sooner" piece rather than real news. Why not just title the article "Slow news day prompts rehash of empty news articles"?
    Reply
  • tayb
    This isn't a report... in fact there was another article from this same site talking about the exact same thing that was also mislabeled as a report. This is pure speculation and it has already been speculated on a very large amount.

    There is a huge mobile phone conference going on in Barcelona maybe write up something about that.
    Reply
  • grieve
    FrustratedRhinoSo this is more of a "people want it sooner" piece rather than real news. Why not just title the article "Slow news day prompts rehash of empty news articles"?HAHA No doubt !
    Reply
  • This is just a bunch of rumor mongering. There is no point in publishing an article if there is nothing new to report. Stop wasting people's time with this garbage.
    Reply
  • Maxor127
    The stupid thing about speculating that it will release in 2009 is that if it does, even according to this article, it would be around Christmas time when it most likely would've released in the early weeks of January 2010 anyways. So basically it's a week or two ahead of schedule. Either way, I don't see anyone other than XP users being excited about Windows 7. And I think those same XP users who hate Vista are just trying to find any excuse to keep from upgrading. Unless they offer some sort of extra cheap upgrade for Vista users, I'll be skipping Windows 7.
    Reply
  • jsloan
    although i played with windows 7 beta until my hearts content, i ain't going to buy it. ill continue to use windows xp and products like window blinds to bring to date my look and feel, but i cant see myself spending anymore money on vista, which basically is what windows 7 is. i already own two copies which i rarely use being i spend spend most of my time in windows xp. i guess ill be forced to upgrade sometime in the distant future when i get a new box that my xp wont run on, but who know before that i maybe dead from old age and of waiting for something better to come on by to justify me paying microsoft $250 per upgrade license. maybe if they would have given it away they would have made be feel a little better, or even if they would have asked for $50 and said i'm sorry for vista, but after vista, i'm still feeling sucker punched and taken for a ride.
    Reply
  • bustapr
    Windows 7 is basically the same buggy and annoying vista.So who cares when it will come out. I prefer xp because it doesnt crash and ask for so much permission like vista, which is most likely what windows 7 is.
    Reply
  • videoguy702
    We all know Windows Vista was a poorly written operating system. We all paid for this mistake. Now, Microsoft wants us to pay full price, actually more than Vista was, for the correction in the form of Windows 7.

    It's kinda like ordering a steak at a restaurant, after you've eaten your meal you get the check and see the price of the steak is higher than the menu price. You ask the waiter and he tells you the steak was harder to cook than originally thought, so the cook passes on his extra effort onto you in the form of more money.

    Is that an honest thing to do (both the restaurant & Microsoft)?????
    Reply
  • videoguy702
    We all know Windows Vista was a poorly written operating system. We all paid for this mistake. Now, Microsoft wants us to pay full price, actually more than Vista's price, for the correction in the form of Windows 7.

    It's kinda like ordering a steak at a restaurant, after you've eaten your meal you get the check and see the price of the steak is higher than the menu price. You ask the waiter and he tells you the steak was harder to cook than originally thought, so the cook passes on his extra effort onto you in the form of more money.

    Is that an honest thing to do (both the restaurant & Microsoft)?????
    Reply
  • jsloan
    i see microsoft stock price not going up, i see continued erosion of market share, i see more people switching to osx and linux.

    asking vista customers to pay $220 to upgrade is to say the least poor judgement. someone at microsoft needs to be replaced.

    i'm certainly not going to pay for it. i'll continue to run xp, i'll run linux, i'm shopping around for osx box. i've been with microsoft since ibm pc pc-dos 1.0. that is right 1.0 since the first pc. i owned one. never owned a mac. in my personal opinion microsoft is losing it's grip on the os. it's failing to innovate, deliver value to its customers. while we all love our xbox360's and their visual studio products, its lost its focus. oh by the way although i own two copies of windows office 2007, i still run office 2003, does what i need without the bloat.
    Reply