"OK, Ubuntu is no Windows and Microsoft will say Windows is far
more complicated. It has millions more lines of code. It is far
more integrated with other products and has a larger ecosystem of
hardware and software that it must ensure that it works with.
Hence, slower release cycles.
"However, Windows 7 was finished ages ago. Yes, we had the beta
in October - but since then very little in the build appears to
have changed. We've had performance improvements and bug fixes, but
Microsoft's been on the triage fast track, to the alarm of some
early testers.
"The only significant difference between last October's beta and
the release candidate will be the inclusion of an anti-trust
button. This will let users turn off Internet Explorer 8, along
with other Microsoft applications, and has been included to satisfy
European regulators who feel that Microsoft is hurting competitors
by shipping its applications with Windows."