The rumours have been confirmed as to the release date of the Windows 7 Release Candidate! However, on top of the news of this up and coming new OS release comes further information -- Windows 7 is going to have a Windows XP compatibility mode!

For the past few years as Vista has worked it's way to mass use on the market, the calls of the good old days of XP for many have been calling, and apparently the folks working at Microsoft have heard your calls and are willing to oblige!

Last Saturday we revealed Microsoft seemed to have accidentally leaked the release date for the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) -- May 5. Well, a post on their Windows 7 team blog yesterday verifies it 100%, if you had any niggling doubts.

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On a somewhat related note, word has been spreading this past while about a "secret feature" planned for Win7, and the cat's now out. Windows XP Mode (XPM; formerly known as Virtual Windows XP) is what users can look forward to once the final version hits (as early as July), which some expect will have "serious implications for Windows development going forward".

XPM, in short, is a "Virtual PC-based virtual environment" which houses a fully licensed edition of Windows XP SP3, available as a free download to users of the Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows 7. Needless to say, if you're serious about your work and/or gaming, one of these editions will be the one to get, if only for XPM.

Mishtram via windowsteamblog.com »