Please visit me at Microsoft Malaysia's office and show me how you could download builds of Windows 7 from Microsoft TechNet apart from build 7000. You can send me a video also of you doing this if it is more convenient.

If you can show me this, I will GIVE you a FREE original copy of Windows 7 Ultimate (32-bit or 64-bit your choice) when Windows 7 is officially released.

I am serious.

No, I didn't know. Your posts have no hint that it is a joke. Even if it is, you should realise that many people depend on forums (especially forums like these) as reliable sources of information. As Farcryer pointed out, people might misunderstand and think that not all TechNet subscribers are treated equally or fairly and that levels of access depend on how much you pay which is totally untrue.

I'm not upset, I just wanted to get to the correct facts.

Due to strict security restrictions, I can't reveal a lot of information regarding Win 7 builds or the release dates. But I would like to point out one important fact. Builds are a normal process of software development. A build might be created due to the inclusion of a new feature or to fix a bug in an existing feature. In adding features and fixing bugs, those same features and bug fixes might conflict with another feature or fix. So a following build might be just to fix that issue.

For a product like Windows 7, there are several teams working on different areas & features. Whatever they create has to be consolidated and cross-checked to ensure compatibility and progress towards the overall product design goals. So, numerous builds can be created and as the article pointed out (please take note that this does not mean I'm verifying or confirming that what the article says is true) this does not mean builds are not created anymore even after a version is ready for release. Read the early posts in the Win 7 Engineering blog for a view of how the teams are organized.

So for us end users, what does this all mean. It means that having the latest build (whether its even true is also debatable) does not mean you have access to all the features or that all the features work properly or that the build itself is stable. Which is why Microsoft does not release interim builds but Beta -> RC -> RTM -> GA. With RTM already being a stable, full-featured release. We also have to bear in mind that Beta & RC builds are 'works in progress', so they should never be used on production machines or machines where loss of data can have negative consequences.

So we can be content with Beta (build 7000) and then RC (which will require a clean install anyways). Be patient guys...RC is coming soon....

A word of advise directly from the Windows 7 Engineering Team (extracted from their latest blog posting):

One other related caution is INSTALL ONLY OFFICIALLY RELEASED BUILDS FROM MICROSOFT. It will always be tempting to get the build with the “mod” already done but you really never know what else has been done to the build. There’s a thrill in getting the latest, we know, but that also comes with risks that can’t even be quantified. For the RC we will work to release a hash or some other way to validate the build, but the best way is to always download directly from Microsoft.

It doesn't help that our Malaysian Ringgit has fallen in value in relation to the US Dollar...

Unrelated info: Packaging for Windows 7 looks like this = Windows 7 Packaging

This post has been edited by mervinr: Jul 2 2009, 10:14 AM