Windows 7 RC to arrive next week

Microsoft has finally confirmed that the release candidate for its next operating system Windows 7 will be available for download next week.

Subscribers to MSDN and TechNet will be able to download the Windows 7 RC on 30 April, while the rest of the world will have to wait until 5 May, Windows comms manager Brandon LeBlanc wrote in a blog post.

The download dates match those suggested by website slipups over the past few weeks, and the RC has already made an appearance on BitTorrent sites. Microsoft has previously said Windows 7 will be released to market by the end of the year or January of 2010.

LeBlanc also noted in the post that at beta testers were sending feedback every 15 seconds at one point in the testing cycle. "Many of your suggestions helped us refine the new and improved taskbar, the behavior of Aero Peek, Touch, Windows Media Player, and much more," he noted.

Click here for our review of the Windows 7 beta, which millions of people are apparently already using as their main operating system.