The next Windows 7 update will be the release candidate, Microsoft announced Friday.

"The next milestone for the development of Windows 7 is the Release Candidate or 'RC,'" Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president for the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, wrote in a blog post. "Right now, every day we are researching issues [with the beta release], resolving them, and making sure those resolutions did not cause regressions (in performance, behavior, compatibility, or reliability)."

"The path to Release Candidate is all about getting the product to a known and shippable state both from an internal and external (Beta usage and partner ecosystem readiness) standpoint," he wrote.

That path does not yet include a release date.

PC Magazine

Just prepare your wallets - they need more cash ;-) (ak)