Windows 7 RTM Arrives: What You Need to Know

Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have reached the release to manufacturing milestone today. Here's what developers, IT pros and business users need to know as Microsoft and its OEMs take another step toward the Windows 7 finish line of public shipment.

By Shane O'Neill
Wed, July 22, 2009

Microsoft made it official today: both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have been released to manufacturing, following through on the software giant's promise to "RTM" Windows 7 in the second half of July.

The RTM milestone is not earth-shattering news to consumers, as most of the end-user Windows 7 features have been on display in beta and release candidate form for months. But it is an important step for Microsoft partners and developers. OEMs (original equipment makers) will now have final code to get PCs ready, software development partners can test new applications, and independent hardware vendors can prepare new hardware.

Windows 7 Bible: Your Complete Guide to the Next Version of Windows
Slideshow: Windows 7 in Pictures: 10 Cool Desktop Features
FAQ: How Much Will Windows 7 Cost You?

Windows 7 marks the first time since Windows 2000 that the client and server versions of Windows will release simultaneously. The networking features that bind the client and server such as DirectAccess and BranchCache have been well-documented at this point, as have the popular Windows 7 desktop features on the client side such as a revamped taskbar and the Aero graphical interface.

What's most compelling about Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 RTMs is the sense of closure. The development of both has been completed and the final code is ready to be sent off to partners, OEMs and developers.

In a Microsoft company blog post announcing Windows 7 RTM, marketing manager Brandon LeBlanc highlights the extensive testing that led the company to the RTM milestone. "We had over 10 million people opt-in to the CEIP (Customer Experience Improvement Program) ... Through CEIP, our engineers were guided by customer feedback all the way to RTM."

Here's a rundown of how the RTM of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will affect everyone from PC makers to IT managers.

What Win 7 RTM Means for Business Users and IT Pros

Volume license customers that have an SA (Software Assurance) license with Microsoft will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 7 through the VLSC (Volume License Service Center). Microsoft says the rest of the languages for Windows 7 RTM should be available within a couple of weeks after that.

Volume License customers without an SA license will be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing starting on Sept. 1.

IT professionals who want Windows 7 RTM have a few options. If they have TechNet subscriptions, they can download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6 and in the remaining languages on Oct. 1.

1 2 3 next page »

You are here: Technology Topics » News

Most Recent Technology Topics Stories

White Papers »

Has Your Server Infrastructure Kept Pace with End User Demands?

Learn how your answer to this question compares to your peers by taking this quick poll. See how your peers are dealing with the challenge of ensuring a highly capable server infrastructure as technological shifts impact the application server platform.

Enterprise Strategy Group: The Case for a New Data-centric DLP White Paper

With increasing data growth, comes increased need for data security. The existing DLP model, with a focus on compliance/enforcement is not sufficient as the data discovery and classification capabilities are not granular enough. Read this paper to find how you can efficiently and accurately manage your risk by rapidly inventorying and classifying your data and then developing remediation workflows that support business needs.

Data Loss by the Numbers

This paper breaks down attack sources into four categories: external, malicious insiders, accidental insiders, and unknown.

Data Loss Prevention Solution for Managing E-Discovery

The rapid growth of data and technology is creating challenges for organizations as this digital data is considered to be business communications and must be preserved according the same industry-specific regulations governing the retention and discovery of emails and more traditional forms of electronic communications. This paper examines the role that Data Loss Prevention ("DLP") technology can play in helping organizations address the challenges of locating information in response to electronic discovery.

Best Practices in Data Protection - Executive Summary

This research, conducted by the Ponemon Institute, focuses on issues relating to the use of data protection solutions such as endpoint encryption and data loss prevention within the workplace.

Business Centric DLP

This report, by Jon Oltsik from Enterprise Strategy Group, examines the need for a new business-centric approach to DLP in order to align business and security requirements.

Webcasts »

Virtualization Success is a Team Effort

As greater numbers of datacenter servers transition from the physical to the virtual world, the components of virtualization success come to the fore. What scores of organizations have discovered is that success is derived from an optimal pairing of the right software platform with the right hardware platform.

Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware

Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn about VMware customer, Navicure, and their experiences testing and evaluating the recovery manager, their progress in implementing it in their environment and their advice other customers considering using vCenter.

Quantifying the Business Value of VMware View - Webcast

Many enterprises have discovered that the use of virtualization to support desktop workloads creates a range of significant benefits. These benefits include price efficiencies, improved IT management and greater agility and choice for end users.

This VMware sponsored webcast with IDC will provide both quantitative measurement of the business value -- defined as the expected ROI -- and qualitative analysis associated with the use of VMware View™. IDC will also provide an analysis of the View Composer and ThinApp™ features of VMware View, including the business value of these solutions and an overview of how they work.

Attend this webcast to learn about:
- Challenges and barriers that might impede the adoption of desktop virtualization
- Navigating roadblocks to facilitate a strategic implementation
- Optimizing qualitative and quantitative benefits to IT and your business

Deliver Private Cloud Database as a Service with VMware vFabric Data Director

VMware recently announced VMware vFabric™ Data Director, a new database deployment and operations platform that enables enterprise IT organizations to offer database as a private cloud service. Built on top of VMware vSphere 5, vFabric Data Director enables IT organizations to ontrol database sprawl through automation and consistent policy enforcement and accelerate application development cycles with self-service database management. Attend this webcast to learn how vFabric Data Director can help you build database-as-a-service in your datacenter.

Reliable Disaster Protection with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager

A simple, cost-effective disaster-recovery solution for virtual environments is high on the agenda for IT organizations as they virtualize more business-critical applications with VMware. VMware vCenter™ Site Recovery Manager-the market-leading disaster-recovery product-ensures the simplest and most reliable disaster protection for all virtualized applications. VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager provides centralized management of recovery plans, enables nondisruptive testing and automates site-failover processes.

Introduction to VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5

Traditional disaster recovery solutions are often too expensive, complex and unreliable to meet business requirements. As a result, IT departments are hesitant to expand disaster protection beyond their most critical applications, largely because they are uncertain whether the quality of the protection is really worth its cost. VMware vCenter™ Site Recovery Manager 5 is the market-leading disaster recovery product that addresses this situation for organizations of all kinds. It complements VMware vSphere to ensure the simplest and most reliable disaster protection for all virtualized applications.

Newsletter Sign-Up »

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter