Well, friends, your queries have been answered! Our buddies over at PCWorld are reporting that Microsoft has confirmed that the Windows 7 RC will be still active until June 1, 2010. This information was actually leaked about a month ago, but Thursday say the Redmond-based software giant confirm the news.

To add to the lengthy amount of time the RC will be available, it was also confirmed that, "the RC release will be available at least through June 2009 and we're not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time." Very good news for those using it, with no intent to purchase the full version for a while (after it's released, of course). How is this compared to Windows Vista RC2? Well, users were allowed to use that for 8 months since it was made available, so 13 months is a hefty boost in terms of the timeframe.

In other news, Windows XP is still going to be available on netbooks for one year after Windows 7 is released. As you can imagine, it'll only be available to vendors selling the netbooks, so don't expect to be able to waltz into a store and pick up a fresh copy of the almost-8-year-old OS. According to ComputerWorld, "Windows-based systems accounted for more than 90% of all netbook shipments from November through January, according to market research firm NPD Group Inc, [thanks to XP]."

Acer has confirmed October 23 as the release date for Windows 7 according to the technology news site Pocketlint. We already mentioned earlier today that Microsoft was aiming for a holiday season 2009 release for their upcoming operating system Windows 7 which would go along with the release date leak. The article interestingly enough speaks of a 30 day free upgrade period prior to the release of Windows 7 which would be different from the currently expected free upgrade period beginning on July 1. The new free update period would start two months later than expected.

The information has obviously not been confirmed by Microsoft but a October release would mean a quick progression from the release candidate to the rtm release. The latest dates for the important Windows 7 releases are therefor May 5, which is the expected public release date of the Windows 7 release candidate, and October 23, which is the Windows 7 release date according to Acer. Remember that this release date would only be for the languages supported in wave 0 which are English, German, Spanish, French and Japanese. The next waves follow in a two week rhythm from that release day on. Check out the complete table for release dates for all Windows 7 language editions.

The guessing game is on again. Microsoft is tight lipped about the Windows 7 release schedule which is the main reason why so many different Windows 7 release dates are floating around on the Internet. Depending on the website that you visit you find release dates for Windows 7 that range from the second quarter of 2009 to the fourth quarter of 2010. That’s more than 18 months of difference.

There are indications that the most extreme release date suggestions will not become true. We know that the Windows 7 Release Candidate will most likely be released in April 2009 which makes it highly unlikely that Windows 7 will be released in the second or third quarter of 2009. The most likely release dates for Windows 7 are therefor located in the fourth quarter of 2009 or the first quarter of 2010.

According to Rachel Linnemann who is responsible for Windows business clients in Germany Windows 7 will not be released in 2009 but in the first quarter of 2010. While she explicitly mentions the Germany version of Windows 7 it is likely that this is also true for the other first tier languages.

According to Microsoft’s language release schedule for Windows 7 the German and English version of Windows 7 will be released at the same time together with several other languages.

Beta version users who might have fears that their beta versions run out will have the opportunity to upgrade to the Windows 7 Release Candidate which - most likely - will not expire before the official release of the final version of Windows 7. It is however not sure at this point if the release candidate of Windows 7 will be made available publicly or only to the beta testers.

Microsoft has confirmed the existence of six separate Windows 7 versions. That's identical to what launched with Windows Vista, although you won't likely see Windows 7 Home Basic appearing on your local store shelves. Nor might you be able to use Windows 7 Starter, depending on where you live and the hardware you're intending to run it on.

Confused? Here's a full breakdown of Windows 7 shipped editions, ordered by complexity:
Windows 7 Starter

Lacks: Aero enhancements, the ability to run more than three simultaneous programs at once*, HomeGroup creation, full mobility capabilities

Available: Emerging markets only, only installed on OEM-specific machines and limited to certain kinds of hardware

*Ignores background applications like file backup utilities, but will trigger if you actually open up the backup program
Windows 7 Home Basic

Lacks: Aero enhancements, live thumbnail previews, Internet connection sharing

Available: Emerging markets only (no U.S., Western Europe, Japan, and other developed countries)
Windows 7 Home Premium

Includes: Aero enhancements, multi-touch capability, media functionality for playing movies and burning DVDs, and the ability to create home network groups

Available: Worldwide!
Windows 7 Professional

Includes: Enhanced networking features like domain join, advanced backup, location-aware printing, and offline folders, as well as Mobility Center and Presentation Mode.

Available: Worldwide!
Windows 7 Enterprise

Includes: Branch Cache, DirectAccess, BitLocker, AppLocker, boot from VHD support

Available: Volume licensing only
Windows 7 Ultimate

Includes: Everything. The whole enchilada. Just not any Ultimate extras--Microsoft has scrapped the notion of these extended add-ons for its future operating systems.

Available: Limited availability
What to Get and How to Install It

Microsoft intends for Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional to be the two editions that most consumers are apt to pick up. Your Average Joe should target the former, whereas small business-themed customers will want to opt for the latter. Microsoft has yet to offer its official suggestions for or hardware recommendations for the operating systems, so stay tuned. However, Microsoft alleges that the various editions of Windows 7 will be able to run on a "very broad set of hardware, from small-notebook PCs (sometimes referred to as netbooks) to full gaming desktops."

Microsoft has yet to announce price points for any of the Windows 7 products. Upgrading from a lesser Windows 7 version to a more meaty variety will be handled through Microsoft's electronic upgrade capabilities. Going from a standard Vista Home Basic or Home Premium install to Windows 7 won't require a reformat of any kind. According to Windows guru Paul Thurrott, the new operating system can be installed right overtop of these Vista editions without complications. Going from XP to Windows 7 will require a clean installation, as will jumping from a 32-bit Windows 7 installation to a 64-bit installation.

The first and only release candidate of Windows 7 is expected to be released in April 2009 according to a news post on wzor.net which are citing Microsoft sources. The OEM of Windows 7 is aiming for an autumn release while the final retail release is expected to be available at the beginning of the Christmas season.

The latest known official builds of windows 7 are build 7015 and 7016 that have been created on 4.1.2009 and 12.1.2009. Build strings for those releases are 7015.fbl_multimedia_media.090104-1750 and 7016.0.090105-1500.

A blog posting on Microsoft's Technet by Keith Combs hinted on Tuesday that a beta version for the company’s new operating system Windows 7 would be made available as early as January, 2009.

The update is confirmed on the basis of a blog posting. Combs also recommended those who wanted to get hold of the Windows beta 7 to sign up for participation in the upcoming MSDN developer conferences.

The blog posting suggested that all who were to attend the aforementioned conferences would receive a DVD with Windows 7 beta 1 on it, adding though that the attendees for the December events would not benefit from the offer.

Keith Combs stated that the DVDs containing the beta version of Windows 7 would not be ready until January 13, the earlies

The company also said, "Windows 7 will offer more options than ever to customize and personalize Windows-based PCs with styles that match the user's personality," though it provided little detail.

Perhaps most significantly, Microsoft said applications that are compatible with Windows Vista will work with Windows 7 because the two operating systems share the same basic architecture. "Windows 7 extends developers' investments in Windows Vista," the company said in a statement.

Upon its debut in January of last year, Vista was roundly criticized for its lack of compatibility with applications built for the older Windows XP operating system. The problem was partly to blame for the fact that few businesses have upgraded from XP to Vista, even though Vista has now been on the market for almost two years.

Consumers and enterprises alike also complained about Vista's heavy hardware and memory requirements, and intrusive security measures that added extra steps to even routine computing tasks. Microsoft no longer mentions Vista by name in its latest Windows ads and appears to be accelerating efforts to bring Windows 7 into production.

"With our new approach to planning and development we now have a great foundation for our partners to start learning and innovating on this exciting new version of Windows," said Steven Sinofsky, senior VP for Microsoft's Windows Engineering Group, in a statement.