RUMOR: WINDOWS 8 RTM SLATED FOR APRIL 2012

Earlier rumors placed the release to manufacturers (RTM) of Microsoft's Windows 8 OS as Q2/Q3 2012, but new sources are saying that timeline has moved up and the release will include Windows 8 x86, ARM/SoC and Server all at the same time.

Sources are saying Microsoft will release the RTM in April 2012 with a beta (not pre-beta) coming around the time of Build in mid-September. If this turns out to be true, expect the release candidate in early January.

We do know from various leaks the Windows 8 team has finished milestone 3 and is well on their way to the next one. We also know from previous Office and Windows disclosure patterns that if/when the team does offer a target delivery date, there will likely be several months of padding built in to make sure there will be no publicly measurable slippage. As a result, I’m betting that summer 2012 RTM target we originally heard about might have included that padding, giving more credence to a real internal April 2012 RTM date.

GOOGLE TESTING CHROME OS, LAUNCH IN NOVEMBER?

It has only been 3 months since Google announced they were working on a new operating system dubbed Chrome OS.  The new OS would be based on their extremely popular browser Chrome.  Google has now released a Release Candidate (RC).  RCs are generally released as one of the last steps to the product being finalized.

In recent weeks Google has said that Android was not optimized for tablet or netbook use, now we know why. Google released a statement "We are very happy with the progress of Google Chrome OS and expect devices will be available later this year. We’ll have more details to share at launch.” [TechCrunch]