Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday in the US that developers attending a Microsoft conference next month will get an early version of Windows 7 to take home.
In a blog posting, Microsoft said that those at the Professional Developers Conference, scheduled for October 27-30 in Los Angeles, would get a pre-beta version of Windows 7.
"With Windows 7 at PDC2008 you will see advances across the full range of Windows, including the kernel, networking, hardware and devices, and user-interface," Microsoft said.
One thing that won't be part of Windows 7 are the e-mail, photo-editing and movie-making applications that were part of Windows Vista. Microsoft plans to make those available as downloadable Windows Live applications.
Late 2009 is the tentative target date for a general release of Windows 7. Screenshots of recent internal builds of Windows 7 have been making the rounds on various enthusiast sites.