Windows 7 development is proceeding as planned, if not better, judging from a blog post today by Steven Sinofsky. The Windows engineering chief writes that the "next milestone" in the development of the new operating system will be the release candidate. As the term suggests, that's a test version that the company puts out as a proposed finished product.

Sinofsky doesn't give a timeline for the Windows 7 release candidate or the final release. In fact, to avoid any confusion, he explicitly says the post "is in no way an announcement of a ship date, change in plans, or change in our previously described process."

However, the post is one more piece of evidence suggesting that the company is aiming to ship Windows 7 this year.

Microsoft released the Windows 7 Beta three weeks ago. With Windows Vista, the company issued a second beta version before moving to the release candidate and then to final release.

Sinofksy's post today implies that isn't the plan this time around.

"The path to Release Candidate is all about getting the product to a known and shippable state both from an internal and external (Beta usage and partner ecosystem readiness) standpoint," Sinofsky writes. "We will then provide the Release Candidate as a refresh for the Beta. We expect, based on our experience with the Beta, a broad set of folks to be pretty interested in trying it out."

In the meantime, the company says the Windows 7 Beta will be available for download through Feb. 10.

Windows 7 gives Microsoft a chance at redemption following Windows Vista's problems. Especially upon launch, the current operating system suffered widespread glitches and incompatibilities with hardware and software. The situation has improved since then, but the reputation has lingered, and there's no doubt that Microsoft would like to move on as soon as possible.

At the same time, the company doesn't want to rush things, lest it see a repeat of the Windows Vista launch problems.

"Our goal is that by being deliberate, predictable, and reliable, the full PC experience is available to customers," Sinofsky writes.