Windows 8 RTM – Get Ready for October Release

It feels like only last year when we were all basking in the glory of the Windows 7 release, but no, three years on, we’re here again but singing a different tune. Windows 8 and its Metro’fication has been Released to Manufacture (RTM), with build number 9200. This is stage one of the official build-up to a retail release of the new operating system by Microsoft.

There are a set of important dates that lead up to the retail release, starting with August 15th. MSDN subscribers will be getting their digital end effectors on the final code, giving them nearly three months of leisurely crunch-time to work on code for when the OS hits retail. September 1st will see sale of volume licenses for OEM and enterprise.

Then finally, the big day, when tablet users giggle in excitement and desktop users sit idly by, muttering obscenities about an underground train system; October 26th being the retail release date.

This also sees the RTM edition of Server 2012 too, along with the availability of Visual Studio 2012. Microsoft has been busy it seems, getting everything ready, convincing us that Metro is the way forward. I mean, it’s not as if 2012 is the end of the world or anything. Oh wait…