It’s not all that often that the words “Windows” and “ahead of schedule” can be used in the same sentence, but here we go: As Cnet’s Ina Fried is reporting, Microsoft. which said it was going to make the Windows 7 Release Candidate available for download tomorrow, opened up the floodgates tonight, ahead of schedule. Here’s the download page. I’ll be posting a detailed guide soon, but here’s the short story: I’ve been using the Release Candidate for a few days and it’s gone–well, not perfectly, but really well. Even though Windows 7’s final version isn’t due for months, I hope and expect that the Release Candidate is the version of Windows I’ll turn to most often from here on out.

If you’re intrigued enough by the Release Candidate to consider trying it, I say go for it–as long as you can install it in its own partition, rather than overwriting a working copy of Windows Vista. (Unless you’re really anxious, though, waiting a day or two’s not a bad idea, given Microsoft’s history of struggling to keep up with the initial throngs of crazed downloaders.)

If you spend time with the RC, please let us know what you think. And stay tuned for more thoughts from me.

 
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