While EST time still hanging around May 4th, Microsoft had lifted the embargo for public download of Windows 7 Release Candidate, first through Windows Ecosystem on Microsoft Connect, then on their official website.

Snap83

Snap84

Snap87

Up till now, Microsoft had refreshed the license keys distributed for activating the RCs with brand new 10 keys.

When will Microsoft start rolling out massive test keys for testers remains to be seen.

Also available is the download page for Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate. A big change is all non-Itanium versions are now integrated into a single image, and support x64 only.

Nevertheless, there is no need to rush for download at all. Microsoft will keep the download open till the end of June as they claimed on many occasions.