Despite calls by many for a third beta, Microsoft has hustled out "RC1" of Windows Vista, or Release Candidate 1. In theory that means that this version of the OS is a candidate for release: That it's so close to being finished that you might be able to sell it.

In reality, this means another few months of bug fixes, but technically the base features of Vista should now be stabilized.

Now the bad news: RC1 is not available to the public yet, but if you downloaded Beta 2 a few weeks ago, you will supposedly be eligible to receive it on disc or via download.

Given that it's only September 1, Microsoft certainly seems on track to have Vista on shelves in January 2007. How buggy it will be when that date arrives remains to be seen.