Windows 7 RC available as of today

The Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) has been released today.

As the name says, the RC version of a software is the candidate to be the final version that goes to market, almost apple to apple, but for some minor bug fixes.

If you have been trying out Windows 7 during beta, you may just upgrade, this version is likely to be more stable and should implement late implementation features. If you’re a Windows XP/Vista user and plan to upgrade, you may start with this RC and move to the final version, which should be released on March 2010.

Windows Vista users will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 using the installation process, while XP and Windows 7 beta users should do a fresh install then restore/reinstall their previous applications and files.

The Windows 7 RC will expire on June 2010. As of March 2010, it will shut down the computer every couple of hours. But by the time, the final version should have been released to public and widely distributed. You will then have reinstall the final release and restore your files. Windows will notify you two-weeks before the shut down process starts.

Windows Seven has been released in two versions, 32bits and 64bits. Depending on your architecture, you should download and install the appropriate version. If you’re 64, I recommend you’d use the 64bits version rather than the 32 in order to leverage the full capabilities. 32bits applications will still be able to run in compatibility mode.

You may download Windows 7 on the Microsoft download site. You may then follow installation instructions described here.

The product keys are common to all users and a list is provided by Microsoft. You will be provided with a product key during the download process.