It's official: Windows 7 to be released on October 22

The long wait is almost over for users eager to upgrade to Microsoft's new operating system, after the company today announced plans to have Windows 7 in retail stores and on new PC's by October 22 this year.

After rumours surfaced in April of a release date in October Microsoft finally gave in and told CNET's Ina Fried the official release date after speaking with Senior Vice President Bill Veghte. Veghte told CNET that the response from the release candidate was good, and that the development of the OS is expected to wrap up some time near the end of next month. Windows 7 will ship in six different flavours - Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate with a special Basic version for developing and emerging countries. And just like Windows Vista, Windows 7 will have a guarantee for those who purchase a new computer in the lead up to 7's release date. Specifics on this will be announced in the upcoming weeks. No prices have yet been announced, but stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for more. 7 has been in both public beta and release candidate stage over the past few months, and already has established a good rapport with developers and those consumers who've downloaded a copy. The company hopes to have the operating system ready for release to manufacturers by the end of July, which would then lead to the October date for a full public release.