Does It Really Matter When The Windows 7 Beta Will Be Released?

Martin | Dec 21, 2008 | Comments

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When you open your favorite Windows 7 news sites you notice that speculations about the release date of the Windows 7 beta are getting out of hand. Will it be January 13, January 5 or January 7? It probably does not take long before all dates in January have been selected to be the release date of the Windows 7 beta.

The real question is if it really matters when the beta is going to be released. Will a January 7 release date be that different from a release on January 5? The answer is that it should not really matter if it will be released in the first or second week of January or at a totally different time.

But why so much speculation about the release date? It is probably about the news, any news is good news is a popular slogan and it might especially be true in times where news are scarce. There is not really that much to report about Windows 7 currently as Microsoft continues to be tight lipped about the operating system. That might not be the only reason though: Many Windows users feel that Windows 7 is closely related to Windows Vista and that many elements are not overly “new” in Windows 7. T

This leaves the press with little to report about, even after testing a few pre-beta builds. What’s your take?

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About the Author: Martin Brinkmann is an Online Journalist from Germany who discovered his love for technology in high school. He is currently working as a freelancer for several publications and runs his own Internet website Ghacks

  • Bigboy
    You have a point, i visit this site 5 times a day, and not really interested in the release dates but the actual footage and news about Windows 7. I have the Windows 7 Build 6956 which i thank you for posting. And hope youse post even more great things!
  • My take on this is that after my Vista Power Users Guide (apologies for the plug) I fully intend to write a guide for Windows 7 that will be greatly expanded.  The problem is that these things take a long time to write, especially with my full-time job and University coursework to do as well.  This is in the light of the rumours of a summer '09 release.  I need to make sure I can get the guide written in time.

    I'm hoping for an early release so I can start getting to grips with Windows 7 over the holidays when I'm going to be on the PC a lot doing my Uni coursework.
  • Should also have mention I've got my beta invitation now and don't want to be fannying around trying to find one off a torrent site.  I'd rather download myself one from M$.
  • smilingman XG
    In my opinion it does not matter when the official beta comes out, it is the the mid-way point. When we start getting release candidates then I will start to real care.

    The reason there is not much news about Win7 is because it is not that different from Vista, it is no more than a optimized and bug fixed version. Like I have posted here before, I am looking forward to it and will be upgrading my aging WinXP rig a few weeks after it comes out.

    So the beta's are good for hardware and software developers to have for testing. For user it is not all that important till  Win7 RC1 and RC2 are release them we should start getting a lot info from MS.
  • I agree with Mike in that while Microsoft is being quiet about new releases for good reason (at least from their perspective), it makes it harder to write any solid blog posts, articles, or even books.

    Microsoft has yet to confirm when the next CTP or beta will be available for Visual Studio 2010 or the .NET Framework 4.0.

    As far as the next version of Microsoft Office is concerned they are even quieter still.

    Windows 7 though is so much faster than XP or Vista that I'd really like to get the beta because at that time I'm planning to move to that OS or Windows Server 2008 R2 as the primary OS on a couple of machines. I'll still use Windows Server 2008 as the primary OS for some critical work but the performance improvements are definately worth it to adopt a beta OS.

    Some of you reading that probably think I'm crazy although the quality of some of the pre-beta 69xx builds is so good that I'll move all the machines except one for now. Once we get to the RC build I might even move that last machine over too.
  • Forcecaster
    I have to say, that I have agree with you. ;) After the release of the Beta I will definetly switch my current Vista for the new OS. Maybe it will contain some bugs, and minor compatibility problems, but the performance boost is enough to pay that little price.
  • smilingman XG
    I have tried the current releases of Win7 and it is better than Vista. To use it as your main OS seems a bit to risky to me. Driver support is better than WinXP at launch, but thats because its base on Vista and they retain the driver dev structure.

    Would like to now if either of you are using the 64bit version, but I plan on use that version for my upgrade.
  • Forcecaster
    64 bit rules the world. ;) The only trouble now is the source of the current build, so it can be "accessed" only in 32 bit version. But x64 edition is the absolute winner for me.

    About the drivers. Currently everything works great with the Vista drivers, except the audio because of the tricky surround sound specific problems, but everything else is ok, at least for me. I don't see any cause to not change to the Beta as it comes out. Well one thing... Without the surround sound the multimedia is not the same. :P
  • Yep, short of show-stopper bugs I definately believe the performance boost is worth the price.
  • Jacqueline Christmas
    I agree whole heartily, when the beta edition of Win7 comes available I will be using it as well.  Of course there will be some bugs but that is part of the process.  Testing everything is the way to learn as well to keep up on technology!  If it was too easy it wouldn't be a learning experience!  I have read that the Win7 has been primarily designed for 64 bit but also is offered in the 32 bit as well.  I love 64 bit...!!!!!
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