Microsoft is aiming to have Windows 10 finished by June so that the operating system is ready for the back-to-school season, according to reports. Microsoft traditionally has new versions of Windows finished by late summer so that PC manufacturers have time to test and install the OS on their devices before the crucial Christmas sales.
However, Microsoft is reportedly dragging the deadline forward for Windows 10 to capture the student market, too, according to a report on Neowin. That gives Microsoft's developers only four months to polish the code, which has been in Technical Preview since last autumn.
The latest publicly released version of Windows 10 - Build 9926 - is still a country mile from completion. It doesn't include the new web browser, Spartan, nor support for the Cortana voice assistant in any language other than US English. Touted features such as the ability to stream Xbox One games to Windows 10 devices are also still to be implemented, and it's far from clear if Microsoft has stopped fiddling with the design of the Start button, which has already been through two major revisions.
Although Microsoft may be cancelling all leave to get the operating system out of the door, the deadline is actually less critical than it has been in previous years. Microsoft has already announced that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for consumers running Windows 7 or Windows 8, meaning that even if back-to-school buyers don't have the latest OS installed when they purchase a new PC, it should be a relatively painless upgrade.
In previous years, PC manufacturers and retailers have issued vouchers for a free Windows upgrade for those who bought PCs in the run-up to a new release, which was an administrative headache. Windows 10 will likely be made available through the Windows Update process, and will almost certainly be offered as in-place upgrade, meaning users' programs and data will be left intact.