What is a release candidate?

Question

I saw it for windows 7... what does release candidate mean, and is it same as retail windows 7?

Answer 1

OK, so you have "beta" versions of software, right? If it's Windows 7 Beta, then that means they're almost done, but they're still testing for errors, but it works good enough that you can download it... and by the way, if you encounter any bugs, then let us know so that we can fix them.



Then you have "Release to Manufacturing" (RTM), which is sometimes called the "Final" version. That's when the actually start selling Windows 7. They call it Windows 7 RTM and Windows 7 Final. That's what you can buy in the store...



But they decided to introduce another layer in the middle. Where "beta" is like "hey, check this out! Do you see any problems?"; and "final" is: "Here, buy this. We guarantee it."; Release Candidate is in the middle. It's after "beta", but before the product is finalized. It's like, "Hey, look at this. I'm gonna sell it... are there any super-terrible mistakes that I should stop the presses and make a major change?"



I dunno... That's the best I can explain it.

Answer 2

A version of a piece of software considered "probably good enough to publish". An RC gets a final round of testing, and if no serious issues are discovered becomes (possibly with very minor changes) a retail version.



In the case of Windows 7, those changes include removing the debug information from the desktop along with the time bomb that stops the RC from working after a few months.

Answer 3

they're different. Release candidate means its not quite ready for retail, and its still being tested.



Retail means its already released. A release candidate is a pre-release version. The retail version is better than the release candidate because its more stable.