Microsoft offers free Windows 7 RTM trial
Microsoft on Tuesday offered a free 90-day trial of the final version of Windows 7, saying that the three-month free ride is for IT professionals.
Except for a short form, however, Microsoft makes no effort to qualify eligible users, giving anyone the opportunity to try out the new operating system before it ships on Oct. 22.
According to Stephen Rose, a senior community manager for Windows, the free trial will be available until March 31, 2010, or until an unspecified number of copies have been downloaded, whichever comes first. "A limited number of licenses are available, so the download will only be available while supplies last," said Rose in a Tuesday entry on a company blog.
There are other not-so-subtle limitations. The Windows 7 trial must be activated within 10 days after it's installed -- not the usual 30 days -- but no separate product key is necessary, as it's built into the software. At the 90-day mark, the trial automatically, and without warning, shuts down the PC every hour of operation.
The trial is a fully-functional Enterprise edition -- which is normally sold only to volume license customers, and is analogous to the Ultimate retail version -- and is available in both 32- and 64-bit versions, although only in English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
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