Microsoft overnight blessed the latest build of Windows 7 for ‘release to manufacture’, reaching a milestone in its efforts to push the memory of Vista far behind.
Yesterday we outlined Microsoft’s timetable for distributing the finalised ‘gold code edition of Windows 7 and observed that the OS was therefore due to reach RTM status sometime within the next two weeks.
As it turns out, Microsoft hit that milestone overnight. CEO Steve Ballmer announced at the company’s staff-only Microsoft Global Exchange sales conference in Atlanta, Georgia that Windows 7 was, at last, ready to roll. Windows exec Steven Sinofsky decreed that the fresh-baked release candidate 7600.16385 was “signed off … and declared as RTM”.
It’s been a long journey since the first external release of Windows 7’s Milestone 1 build 6519 in January 2008, but nowhere near the arduous five year trek of Vista.
Nor has the road been anywhere near as rough. With exceptional focus and under Steven Sinofky’s exceptional stewardship, the next-gen Windows has enjoyed widespread praise with almost no stumbles.
So what happens now? A set of DVDs containing the 32-bit and 64-vit RTM builds of Windows 7, along with scads of supplementary tools and gumpf, is being distributed to the PC builders of the world.
Most will receive their prized FedEx parcel by Friday, US time, so that they can begin the process of turning the raw code into their own bespoke versions of the OS with branding, customised help screens, vendor-specific software and assorted crapware.
The next official date of note in the Windows 7 distribution calendar is August 6th, when the code will be posted for download on Microsoft’s members-only MSDN, TechNet and Microsoft Connect online services. Unless it lands on the BitTorrent networks sometime in the coming fortnight (and we’re taking bets that it will).
Source : APCMag.com



It also explains how to alter the rendering settings in Windows 7 and how to turn it off if you prefer your fonts to be all jagged and industrial looking. There is also details of the ClearType tuner that is part of the Windows Control Panel, allowing you to beat the desktop fonts into the shape you desire. For example, “Because there are differences in monitor characteristics and differences between readers’ eyes, there are font rendering options that can only be optimized by a reader looking at text on their monitor. The ClearType Tuner uses various samples of ClearType, presented in the form of an eye-test, to make fine grained adjustments to the ClearType algorithms. Each wizard page tunes a parameter such as monitor gamma (relationship between voltage and brightness), your sensitivity to color artifacts, and your preference for letter heaviness.”
