So let it be written, so let it be done. During Steve Ballmer’s decidedly humdrum keynote yesterday evening, the Microsoft CEO made several announcements that were less than surprising. In fact, the majority of Ballmer’s key points were leaked earlier this week. One simple statement however, has the tech blogosphere buzzing and rightfully so. That statement: “I’m thrilled to announce the availability of the Windows 7 beta.” Despite the fact that everyone and their 10-year-old torrent-traversing nephew has already gotten their hands on unofficial builds of Microsoft’s upcoming revival OS, the beta release of 7 marks the start of what is looking like a huge (HUGE) turning point for Microsoft. It’s not exactly a state secret that Vista has been a low point for the company; love it or hate it, the OS has a negative stigma that has been a blemish on Redmond since Vista was first previewed. With each passing day and each new mention of Windows 7, the dark and dingy room that Microsoft had been trapped in gets a bit brighter. Rumors of July upgrade availablility are one thing, but the official public release of the Windows 7 beta is big, big stuff. When it becomes available tomorrow, anyone with a PC and about 45 free minutes (yup, it can be installed in as little as 45 minutes) should download Windows 7 from http://www.microsoft.com/windows7 – you can be sure we will.
Windows 7 beta (officially) flies free tomorrow
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 6:11PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.
