Microsoft has revealed more details on the release road map of upcoming next version of operating system – Windows 7, in a monthly update that is published and distributed to OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) recently. The latest update specifically provides information about the waves to release different localized language version of Windows 7.
Microsoft will be launching Windows 7 in seven “language waves”, probably hoping to create buzz around the lucky number seven. As the actual date for Windows 7’s release to manufacturing (RTM) has not been determined yet, the roadmap schedule for releasing different language editions of Windows 7 as shown in table below is based on the waiting time from the final RTM date of Windows 7.
| Wave |
Release Date |
Languages |
| Wave 0 |
RTM |
English, Spanish, Japanese, German, French |
| Wave 1 |
RTM + 14 Days |
Italian, Dutch, Russian, Simplified Chinese |
| Wave 2 |
RTM + 28 Days |
Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, Korean |
| Wave 3 |
RTM + 45 Days |
Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong), Czech, Portuguese, Hungarian |
| Wave 4 |
RTM + 59 Days |
Danish, Norwegian (Bokmål), Finnish |
| Wave 5 |
RTM + 73 Days |
Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Ukrainian |
| Wave 6 |
RTM + 87 Days |
Thai, Romanian, Lithuanian, Slovak, Bulgarian |
| Wave 7 |
RTM + 101 Days |
Estonian, Croatian, Serbian Latin, Latvian, Slovenian |
From the schedule above, Microsoft is scheduling to release all localized versions of Windows 7 over a long period of 101 days after the official RTM of Windows 7, when customers can only access to the first wave which consists of usual suspect language editions – English, Spanish, Japanese, German, French.
However, from Windows Vista experience, the 7 waves above are probably only apply to public launch and end-user availability, while subscribers of MSDN and TechNet may have earlier access to all language editions of Windows 7. And it’s also unclear if the waved language release applies to MUI (Multilingual User Interface), which can also be used to convert an edition of Windows 7 in a specific language to another language.
Update on Windows 7 release roadmap.
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