Windows 7: Technet Email says 10-22 for us

I hope I'm reading it wrong, but I just received a Technet Email saying we'll be able to get the RTM version on 10-22, not 8-6 as was being reported:

"It's almost here! We're very happy to tell you that we've hit the last big milestone on the way to Windows 7: release to manufacturing. We're packaging up copies and manufacturers are putting it on new PCs. On October 22, you'll be able to get the final shipping product. Your feedback has helped us make Windows 7 more reliable, compatible, and manageable-and we'd like to thank you for that. "

Our licensing portal will have it on August 6...

Still August 6th for technet.
Is still true as that's GA.

It's not a Technet email. It went to anyone who registered to download the RC, so there are certainly people it's going to who aren't getting it 'til October 22. Technet people need not worry. They're still sticking to August 6 like they announced.

In the fine print at the bottom of that email:

"...You are receiving this important message about Windows 7 because you downloaded the Beta or RC from either TechNet, MSDN or the Windows web site...."

RTM is what'll be available on 6 Aug
GA is what'll be available on 22 Oct

Will there be any difference? I'd suspect that there will be, but most of it will pertain to stuff that the system builders have discovered (so it may not even affect your system).

I got 2 of them, one with Technet logo at top, one without.

Both had the "downloaded the RC" at the bottom, so I'm ignoring them also.

Thanks guys.

People can do some stuff with TechNet w/o being a paid subscriber. The Technet email in question in this thread was aimed at those people, who downloaded the RC, and most definitely NOT to the paid subcribers to Technet.

Those lucky folks (including me ) who have a subscription to Technet are still supposed to be getting the RTM (and keys) on Aug. 6th. Looking forward to that date very much.

The problem with a big corporation is that it sometimes feels like you're dealing with multiple companies.

There are several places to get Windows 7. When I got the beta, I followed a link that a friend gave me, which took me to technet.microsoft.com, and from there, I downloaded the beta and got my key. Then later, I needed to get some additional developer resources that I couldn't get from the TechNet download, so I joined the ecosystem program at Microsoft's Connect website, which lets people download Ult, Prem, debug versions of Windows 7, developer kits, etc. Then for the RC, I didn't think too much about where to get it, and since I happened to be on the MSDN main page (outside of the subscription area) for other reasons at the time, and it was advertising the RC download, I got my RC from there.

So I ended up with three RTM announcements in my inbox: one from TN (non-sub), one from MSDN (non-sub), and one with a generic header which I assume was from Connect.

And there are still other ways to get Windows 7, like through a MSDN sub or a TechNet sub. The vanilla downloads from TechNet (non-sub) and MSDN (non-sub) all use the same small set of keys for everyone (so you can Google the key they gave and find it on thousands of sites). The Connect website and MSDN/TechNet subs, OTOH, generate unique beta/RC keys that you and only you have. It's a huge mess how MSFT did the beta/RCs, with at least 5 different official places to download (6 if you count the invite-only beta program at Connect), at least 3 separate key generation systems, and, in my case, at least 3 e-mails telling me about RTM.

Right you are Peter......one week and counting