Microsoft slates Windows 7 public beta for early 2009

Download will be available to all, company says

By Gregg Keizer

October 28, 2008 12:00 PM ET

Comments

Windows 7: Vista Reloaded

Windows 7: Full coverage

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. today said that it would expand testing of Windows 7 to the general public in early 2009.

As it told attendees at its Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles that they would receive an alpha edition of Windows 7 later today, Microsoft also said that it would issue a public beta of the Vista successor early next year.

The beta will be available to anyone for download, Microsoft said, according to several real-time blogs covering the event, including one at LiveSide.net where several noted Windows bloggers collaborated.

Previously, Microsoft said it would solicit beta testers using its normal process of gathering names from its Connect.com site.

Interest in Windows 7 grew when Microsoft began talking up the new operating system in May during a one-day marketing blitz, and it intensified last month when the company announced that it would issue "pre-beta" copies of the in-development operating system to attendees at both PDC this month and at next week's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), also to be held in Los Angeles.

Microsoft has not spelled out pricing for Windows 7, revealed the number of separate editions of the operating system it will sell, or even announced a definitive ship date. Thus far, company executives have only targeted late 2009 or early 2010 for the release.

The company rolled out the first wide-scale public beta of Windows Vista in June 2006, about five months before it wrapped up the operating system.

Read more about windows in Computerworld's Windows Knowledge Center.

Comment Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

Microsoft

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

EFD vs. HDD - What You Need to Know

Enterprise flash drives provide a new Tier 0 storage layer capable of delivering high I/O performance at a very low latency. Proper use of EFDs in an Oracle environment can deliver increased performance compared to fibre channel drives. Read the recommendations for identification of the best DB components for EFDs.

WHITE PAPER

Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009

The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.

WHITE PAPER

Eight Criteria for Server Load Balancing

Server load balancers are a simple yet highly effective means to scale an application environment while ensuring its availability. Today's solutions should also address application performance and security. Read about the top eight criteria you should consider when choosing a server load balancer and how Citrix NetScaler meets those requirements.