Yes it is here! (Ok i know i am kinda late but i didn't have any time). Get your copy of the windows 7 release candidate now (use I.E. for download it works way better than anything else obviously).So lets have a look at the characteristics:
Speed: Windows 7 is waaaaay faster than any previous O/S by microsoft.This is mostly dut to the eight (8!) system services that run on startup!!! How the hell is it working??? Also other tasks such as windows explorer have been accelerated by far. To sum up if it had a wheels it'd certainly take off.
Appearance: 7 has the best looks i have ever seen on a PC. It is a fact. It's all there, Vista-styled, but with a few extra touches like the slideshow which you can use as desktop (wow!). It is one of the stongest elements of this new O/S and it sure works like a charm.Brilliant to say the least.
Compatibility: On 7 all executables i have tried to run worked except for iTunes because i haven't installed Qtime yet. All games work perfectly and apart from some "made for vista" utilities eveything's cool.
Connectivity: Here was my first setback because apparently for some reason my modem cant be recognized. It could POSSIBLY just be my modem CGA5722. Microsoft though is claiming that 7 is her most easy-to-connect O/S. We'll see about that in autumn when the final build comes out.
Petit bobos (little problems/bugs): So far i have spotted really few bugs in the beta and the release candidate but my eye caught something about WMP crashes while working with mp3 files. What i encountered was kinda bizarre: from the startupeverything goes 1.5 times faster. Everything ,sounds, programs, everything just moves faster (note to self: check out crysis maximum speed hooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah heart attack!) Just a restart and its ok havent seen it on the release candidate.
In conclusion: Windows 7 is (one of) the best O/S i had the pleasure of testng. Really useful, quick and good-looking. If thats a next-gen O/S then GIMME MORE!!!!!!!!!!