Windows 7 RC1 Available for Public Download

The day has finally arrived. Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 is available as a free, public download (read available to anyone who wants it) as of this morning. We’ve gone hands-on with Windows 7  Release Candidate 1 already and we feel confident recommending it to users who are comfortable installing a new, unsupported version of Windows on their PCs. Personally, I’ve been using the earlier release, Windows 7 Beta (build 7000), as my primary operating system at work and at home since January and I can say without equivocation that it works and works better and faster than either Vista or XP. It boots quickly, has very little background hard drive activity, and rarely crashes. Perhaps the best thing about Windows 7 RC1 is that it’s free and it won’t expire until next spring. Microsoft tells us that the operating system will start “bi-hourly shutdowns” on March 1, 2010 and cease functioning all-together on June 1, 2010. Nobody wants to deal with bi-hourly shutdowns so consider the earlier date as the real expiration date. Still, who can complain about 10 months of free Windows? Ready to take the leap? You can download Windows 7 RC1 from Microsoft.com.