Despite the end-of-May projection, according to Microsoft’s Partner Program website, the highly anticipated Windows 7 release candidate should be presently available for subscribers of MSDN and TechNet, with an expected public release date of May 5th, or is it?

In an attempt to verify this information, Ars Technica checked both sites for the supposed RC and failed to discover anything but the same tired beta of Windows 7. With inkling that the posting was just another slip up, Ars turned to their readers who managed to obtain a quote from Microsoft’s Online Concierge substantiating the theory with a confirmation that the RC has not been made available via TechNet or MSDN, and is only presently available to Microsoft OEM partners, such as Dell.

Although the confusion surrounding the Windows 7 RC’s current availability to TechNet and MSDN subscribers has been solved, the stated public release of May 5th has yet to be addressed.