No turning back now as Windows 8 heads off to manufacturing

According to a post on the Windows Team Blog, the latest version of Windows has hit the all important RTM (Release to Manufacture) milestone. That means the operating system is finalised, and that it will start trickling its way onto PCs in a few weeks.

First to get their hands on Windows 8 will be those with MSDN and Technet subscriptions. According to the blog post this will happen on the 15th of August (US time). This will coincide with the final version of Visual Studio 2012 and the other tools needed to develop apps for the Windows Store. This should give plenty of lead time for developers to finalise their projects in time for the general public availability of the operating system on October 26th.

For those without early access to the final version of the OS, you can still download the release preview. It isnt the same build as the RTM of Windows 8 (it still has things like Aero desktop transparency, which has now been removed), but it gives a good picture of exactly what to expect from Windows 8.

The other good news for those currently running the preview is that the RTM means proper drivers are on the horizon. While beta driver availability for the Windows 8 preview has generally been good, there are still some components with only basic support.

You can  see a breakdown of the release schedule in the announcement, and we’ll be upgrading our test systems the moment it hits MSDN so we can get a proper look at the changes made since release preview.