Microsoft's Windows 7 Release Candidate is due out later this week. It's the last big milestone before the next version of the flagship product hits the market. However, the company hasn't yet announced a final release date. If that seems unusual, that's because it is.

The company's habit has been to announce its Windows release timing much earlier in the process. In the case of Windows XP, for example, Microsoft went public with a release date nearly two months before the first release candidate came out. This time around, the company is keeping the Windows 7 schedule much closer to the vest.

In many ways, it's not unexpected. Following Windows Vista's delays, the new Windows development team is being careful not to make promises unless it's more than certain it can deliver on them. By keeping the scheduled release date under wraps, the company is protecting itself from being accused of a delay if it misses the target by a few days or weeks.

Microsoft has said that Windows 7 will be released about three years after Windows Vista's general availability. Interpreted literally, that would mean January 2010. But everyone in the industry is working under the assumption that the new operating system will be out this year, in time for the critical holiday shopping season.

The latest example came when AMD executives said twice on their earnings conference call last week that Windows 7 will be released "in the back half of this year."

The only question now is when Microsoft will say the same thing -- and get specific about the date.

Of course, the company needs to make sure the new operating system will truly be ready to go. Ditto the surrounding ecosystem of hardware, software and devices. No one wants a repeat of the Windows Vista launch debacle.

But especially in the midst of all this economic turmoil, the technology industry would be well-served by a public display of certainty -- and confidence -- from one of its biggest players.