Microsoft has sent emails out to Beta testers of Windows 7 to announce that the Release Candidate will be available via their Customer Preview Program on May 5th. It will be an unlimited release available to anyone who wants to try it with any number of allowed product keys but it will only be available until June 30th 2009. Past that point the product keys will expire. Microsoft also provide the following information:
IMPORTANT: If you are running Windows 7 Beta you'll need to back up your data (preferably on an external device) and then do a clean install of the Windows 7 Release Candidate. After installing Windows 7, you will need to reinstall applications and restore your files. If you need help with the installation process, please see the Installation Instructions.
If you're running Windows Vista, you can install Window 7 RC without having to back up and reinstall your programs and data. But to be on the safe side, please do backup your data before you start.
Please note: All users of the Windows 7 Release Candidate (including Windows Vista users who have upgraded to the Release Candidate) must do a clean installation of Windows 7 RTM. Please keep this is mind as you consider downloading the Release Candidate as opposed to waiting for the general availability release.
The RC has actually been available to MSDN subscribers since April 30th, but is now getting opened up to the public after 5 days. More than 10,000 companies have signed up to have access to a breadth of helpful tools and resources needed to prepare their products and services to take full advantage of the innovations in Windows 7 - how this compares to Microsoft Vista and previous versions of the operating system I'm not entirely sure.
I'll report back once I've tried the Release Candidate!
