KUALA LUMPUR: An almost-ready version of Windows 7, Microsoft Corp’s latest PC operating system, was released on the Internet today.

Within five hours of its availability about noon, more than 5,000 Malaysians had downloaded the Windows 7 “release candidate,” said a Microsoft Malaysia spokesman.

A release candidate is a version of the operating system that is in its final stages of development and is typically used by Microsoft partners to develop new applications, device drivers and other services for it.

It also allows IT professionals and other PC users to test the new operating system on their computers.

Microsoft Malaysia also said more than 10,000 companies have signed up to have access to a breadth of tools and resources needed to prepare their products and services to take full advantage of the innovations in Windows 7.

Among them is design and office suite software maker Corel Corp. Joe Roberts, executive vice-president for products at Corel, said the company hopes to improve user experience in its software using Windows 7 capabilities.

“Windows 7 will redefine how people think about computing,” he said in a press statement.

Winning formula?

Windows 7, slated for release next year but widely expected to be on the market as soon as this October, builds on the current operating system, Windows Vista.

According to an Associated Press (AP) report, Vista got off to a rough start because it didn’t work well with many existing programs and devices.

AP reported that Microsoft is counting on Windows 7 to win over businesses that had put off upgrading to Vista.

Microsoft also drew criticism from consumers when many computers advertised beforehand as “Vista capable” were too weak to run Vista’s highly touted new interface and other features, according to AP.

The report said Windows 7 shares much of Vista’s underlying technology, which means hardware and software makers have had more than two years to catch up to a more demanding set of requirements.

Microsoft has also pushed the notion that the high-end version of Windows 7 will run on many more computers than Vista, including the tiny, low-powered laptops known as netbooks, according to the report.

If you are interested in downloading the Windows 7 release candidate, go to tinyurl.com/crxlpq.