The official dates when you will be able to get Windows 7 RTM were made public on Windows 7 Team Blog by Brandon LeBlanc. The Release to Manufacturing (RTM) for Windows 7 will not be free for beta testers, unless they have a subscription to TechNet. In the same time, the product keys for Windows 7 RTM will be different than the ones released for Windows 7 Beta and the Release Candidate. ISV (Independent software vendor) and IHV (Independent hardware vendor) Partners will be the first who can obtain Windows 7 RTM from Microsoft Connect or MSDN on August 6th.

In case of other types of Microsoft partners and OEMs the Windows 7 RTM availability is scheduled as follows:

-Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified Members will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English through the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Portal on August 16th.
-Microsoft Action Pack Subscribers will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English beginning with August 23rd.
-OEMs will receive Windows 7 RTM software images beginning approximately 2 days after the official RTM will be ready.
-Business customers will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 7th via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC)
-IT Professionals with TechNet Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th
-Developers with MSDN Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th
-All consumers will be able to get Windows 7 starting with the general availability date of October 22, 2009

The good news is that you can still use Windows 7 RC until next year, but an update to Windows 7 RTM is not possible from within Windows 7 RC, because the RTM requires a clean installation.

Users are advised to not use leaked copies of Windows 7, due to the fact that they may contain malware, which definitely will harm any computer. In the same time, the leaked versions are not identical with RTM, therefore they are not stable and cannot be used in a production environment.

If you have more than one computer at home, you will be also pleased to know that family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium was officially confirmed. All copies of Windows 7, such as Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate will be delivered as 32-bit and 64-bit DVDs.

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