TechNet and MSDN subscribers who're already using the Release Candidate of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system have confirmed that the software won't expire until June 1st 2010, some 392 days after its scheduled public launch on May 5th.
Despite merely confirming the expiry date listed on last month's leaked Microsoft TechNet article, the decision to allow the software to run free of charge for such an extended period of time will come as a surprise to many.
Microsoft is yet to comment on the unusually long Release Candidate period, but it effectively provides an unlimited number of users with a free copy of the penultimate pre-release code. Peculiar, we feel, particularly when considering that a retail launch could take place as soon as October 23rd.
In contrast, the final Release Candidate for Windows Vista - RC2 - launched in October 2006 and expired just seven months later. Upon expiry, it automatically rebooted every two hours in an effort to encourage users to purchase a final retail version.
Will you be downloading the Windows 7 RC next week? And, if so, will you be tempted not to purchase a retail release until the RC expires in June 2010? Let us know in the HEXUS.community forums.
