Windows 7 Release Candidate Leaked Online

— -- In what has become a regular occurrence, another version of Windows 7 has leaked to file-sharing sites. The latest version is reportedly Win 7 Release Candidate built 7100, which is slated for an official Microsoft launch in early May.

Some bloggers who've had a chance to examine the alleged bootleg of RC 7100 are convinced it's the real deal. Long Zheng of the istartedsomething blog believes the latest Win 7 code, accessible via your favorite "content hub" (P2P site), is real if unspectacular:

"The highly anticipated release candidate (RC) build of Windows 7 has been leaked and its authenticity is entirely undisputed. First looks reveal nothing significantly new or different, but if you've been wanting to get a vibe of how far Windows 7 has come since the public beta, especially performance, this is the build to get."

Lee Mathews of Download Squad has a similar take: RC 7100 is real, but not that thrilling: "Visually not much has changed, so don't expect to see anything Earth-shattering."

And Windows 7 News is displaying 50 screenshots of the alleged RC 7100. The site asked readers to comment if they've "spotted anything out of the ordinary like new features or changes." But thus far all indications are that RC 7100 doesn't bring dramatic changes, such as a rumored new interface.

If anything, it appears that RC 7100 is very close to the finished product. Microsoft hasn't announced a release date for Windows 7, although industry watchers expect it to ship later this year. Win 7's most prominent improvement will be a less-intrusive User Account Control, or UAC, a security feature designed to prevent rogue code from hijacking a PC. Microsoft recently that stated that Windows 7 users will see nearly a third fewer UAC prompts than Windows Vista users.