PDC attendees will get pre-beta Windows 7

Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday that developers attending a Microsoft conference next month will get an early version of Windows 7 to take home.

In a blog posting, Microsoft said that those at the Professional Developers Conference, scheduled for Oct. 27-30 in Los Angeles, will get a pre-beta version of Windows 7.

"With Windows 7 at PDC2008 you will see advances across the full range of Windows--including the kernel, networking, hardware and devices, and user-interface," Microsoft said.

One thing that won't be part of Windows 7--as first confirmed by CNET News earlier this week--are the e-mail, photo-editing and movie-making applications that were part of Windows Vista. Microsoft plans to make those available as downloadable Windows Live applications.

Late 2009 is the tentative target date for a general release of Windows 7.

The blog posting as well as several new Windows 7-related sessions were noted earlier on Wednesday by ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley. Screenshots of recent internal builds of Windows 7 have also been making the rounds on various enthusiast sites.