Win 7 shipping at “holiday season,” Win Server 2008 R2 beta available

Los Angeles –- Microsoft Monday said Windows 7 will ship "in time for the holiday shopping season."

The company also said the release candidate for Windows Server 2008 R2 is available now for download. http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2008R2.

The company had officially been saying the ship date for Windows 7 would be early in 2010, but rumors were pegging the release for fall. The company did not clarify its definition of the "holiday shopping season."

In addition, Bill Veghte, senior vice president for the Windows business, also said an invitation-only technical preview for Office 10 will be available in July. He said attendees at TechEd would have first crack at grabbing one of those invitations.

Veghte also said a community technology preview of SQL Server 2008 R2, formerly code-named Kilimanjaro, will be available in the second half of 2009. The CTP will include enhancements in self-service BI, multi-server management, and Master Data Services.