With the second half of July approaching the feeling that Windows 7 RTM is so close it can be tasted is getting stronger and stronger. The confirmation that Microsoft will be releasing the next iteration of the Windows client to manufacturing by the end of this month came in early June 2009, but without a specific deadline delivered. While closing in on producing the gold build for Windows Vista's successor, the Redmond company is keeping the final backing stages of the Windows 7 development process under a tight lid. But this is only valid for its own cooking ovens; once development milestones are out of Redmond Windows 7 builds manage to find their way into the wild. It is of course the case of Windows 7 Build 7264 leaked earlier this week.
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Quite a lot has happened between Build 7264 hitting the download pipes from torrent trackers and warez websites and the previous leaked release, Build 7260. Sure enough, there are changes in the operating system itself; nothing at a large architectural stage of course, but more in respect to the details that Microsoft was still holding back from its users. Since mid-June the software giant has confirmed the Windows 7 box design and the pricing details for the platform. At the same time, the company has kick-started the Windows 7 Free Upgrade Option Program, a marketing initiative in partnership with OEMs, designed to provide end users with free upgrade editions of Windows 7 for equivalents of Vista SKUs bought with qualifying new computers between June 26, 2009 and January 31, 2010. In addition, discounted upgrade copies of Windows 7 are still available for pre-ordering, Home Premium for $49.99 and Professional for $99.99, for customers in select markets, with Microsoft preparing to bring the special offerings to more countries. And all the while the company is keeping mum on the progress of Windows 7 toward RTM. In all fairness this is by no means a new strategy for the software giant. Official details on the evolution of Windows 7 between milestones were never shared with the public. This doesn't make Build 7264 any less valid or relevant - a relevance drawn from the proximity to RTM. In this sense, while being a release from the RTM-branch, Build 7264 is not, and will not qualify as the gold build of Windows 7. Windows 7 Build 7264 InstallationBelow you will be able to see screenshots from the installation of Windows 7 Build 7264. It has been over two weeks since I performed a deployment of Windows 7, and some details otherwise familiar faded a tad. But I installed every milestone of Windows 7 I could ever get my hands on, and the sheer speed of the process continues to deliver quite an impression. Even on a virtual machine with just 1.5 GB of RAM the deployment is fast, and will undoubtedly surprise end users in a pleasant manner. It's just a different league compared with previous releases of Windows. With the exception of a few details associated with the End User License Agreement, installing Build 7264 is the same as the Release Candidate bits. But in the EULA, Windows 7 is no longer accompanied by any moniker highlighting a development phase. The operating system is referenced as plain vanilla Windows 7, an indication of the proximity to RTM.
