Microsoft sure is trickling out the Windows 7 news as slowly as possible.On July 21, by way of a posting about the Windows Crew Blog,
Office Professional Plus 2010 Key, Microsoft shared its delivery timetable for your Windows 7 bits. Without having yet disclosing the release-to-manufacturing date — which Microsoft has said will be before the end of this month — company officials provided the following new dates:OEMs: Two days after RTM
ISVs and IHV partners: August 6 (downloadable through Microsoft Connect or MSDN)Microsoft Gold certified resellers: August 16 (downloadable from the partner portal in English only); October 1 (other language)TechNet subscribers: August 6 (English only); October 1 (other languages)
MSDN subscribers: August 6 (English only); October 1 (other languages)Microsoft “Action Pack” subscribers: August 23 (English only); October 1 (remaining languages)
Volume licensees with existing Software Assurance license: August 7 (downloadable from the Volume License Service Center in English); a couple of weeks after that for other languages. (So my original post on when business users would get Windows seven wasn;t really wrong,
Microsoft Office Standard 2010, after all. Glad we cleared that up. Not!)
Volume licensees without having a Software Assurance license: September 1 (downloadable from the Volume License Service Center)Consumers: General availability begins October 22. Retailers and OEMs will be offering new systems preloaded with Windows seven and copies of Windows 7 at retail on that day.The good news: There will be a family pack for Windows Home Premium,
Microsoft Office 2010 Pro Plus, Microsoft is confirming,
Microsoft Office 2010 X86 Key, and it will allow installation on up to three PCs. Microsoft still isn;t talking pricing on that one,
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 Key, but my colleague Ed Bott already had the pricing details.
The bad news: No free copies of Windows seven for techical beta testers. The 50 percent discount offer that already closed for Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional was your thank you.