Windows 8 has reached RTM

Today Microsoft reached a major milestone in the Windows 8 development, Release to Manufacturing! This signifies that Windows 8 is at stage where it is considered fit and stable for everyone to use. It’s been a long journey, although Windows 7 only came on the scene three years ago with great success, we were always wondering, what would come next. We finally know! Windows 8 represents a major departure for the traditional desktop from the classic idea of a desktop operating system running on a Desktop PC, Laptop or even a Tablet.

Today, I am excited to announce that Windows 8 has been released to manufacturing (RTM)! This means we’ve completed the product development and testing of the product and have started handing off the final code to our OEM partners. They can now begin preparing new Windows 8 PCs and devices they’ll introduce starting with General Availability. For more on RTM, I suggest reading this blog post from Steven Sinofsky on the Building Windows 8 blog.

Learn more here

Windows 8 puts Touch, Mobility and the Internet first, creating an experience that is immersive, fluid, connected yet strongly familiar. Windows 8 does not leave the past behind and it would be foolish if it did. Windows 8 continues to provide an environment that meets the legacy requirements of today’s standard desktop applications while embracing new advances through the Metro Design Language and Start Screen interface. Windows 8 is a triumph in new areas too, support for new CPU architectures such as ARM represents the significant changes in the computing landscape from 5 years ago. Consumption, Mobility and constant access to networks both data and social are key parts of what computing means today.

Windows 8 redefines and re-imagines computing going forward. Microsoft has accomplished a lot and I must give the team enormous praise for making the sacrifices, opening up about the decisions that went into the design changes that formed this major upgrade. Windows 8 is certainly a new chapter not just in the operating system’s life, but the lives of hundreds millions of users worldwide.