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Faced with massive piracy of its bread and butter operating system Windows, Microsoft now says pirated versions of its next generation operation system Vista will be of no use. "The copies available for download are not final code and users should avoid unauthorised copies which could be incomplete or tampered," the company said. "This unauthorised download relies on the use of pre- Release-to-Manufacturing (RTM) activation keys that will be blocked using Microsoft's Software Protection Platform. Consequently, these downloads will be of limited value," the company continued.

Microsoft has finished the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of its upcoming Windows Vista operating system, with its head of development admitting he's relieved that the much-delayed OS is finally ready to ship. "This is a good day," said Jim Allchin, the co-president of the company's Windows division, in a press conference. "An hour ago we signed off [on the RTM build]. We're ready to ship."

"RTM signifies the next step and the next phase for Vista," said Allchin, who added that the torch had been passed to computer makers, who will install the OS on new PCs, and third-party software developers. Allchin also confirmed that Vista would release to corporate customers with volume license agreements before the end of November and that the OS would meet the previously set deadline of January 2007 "January 30, in fact," said Allchin.

PC makers, said Allchin, are getting copies of the Vista RTM immediately. "We are giving it out as fast as we can," he said.

All versions of Vista will be packaged on a single installation DVD, said Allchin. Five language editions of the OS are now available in English, Japanese, Spanish, French, and German, he added and a total of 18 will be available by the January 30 retail launch. "This is an incredibly happy day for us," said Allchin.

Vista has been a long time in the making, and was originally scheduled to hit retail channels in time for the busy holiday shopping season. Microsoft is offering coupons through its hardware channel to encourage customers to buy Vista-ready PCs during that time so they can upgrade to Vista when it's available generally.

Business customers have said they likely will not upgrade to Vista immediately after its release, but will probably wait until a first service pack for Vista is available. Allchin said customers he's spoken with have different schedules for deploying Vista, but that he expects businesses to begin testing Vista in their IT systems as soon as it's available to them on November 30.