Surprise! Remember how Microsoft said they wasn’t going to release Windows 8.1 to MSDN and TechNet before October 18? Well, they’ve backtracked on that statement and have decided to release Windows 8.1 on both services today! Microsoft’s original plan to keep the final bits withheld until October 18 was greeted with lots of complains from developers and IT professionals who needed to debug and test apps on the new update.
As of today, you can now snag the Windows 8.1 RTM or Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM via TechNet or MSDN. Microsoft has also rolled out Visual Studio 2013 RC for developers, and we’ve added the download link for you below.
What’s unfortunate is that pretty much everything has already leaked, making these ‘official’ releases rather useless to those who have already updated via leaked ISO’s. There is absolutely no difference between the leaked ISO’s and the ones offered on MSDN and TechNet.
“With these updated platform and tools bits, developers will be able to build and test their Windows 8.1 apps. The RTM versions of tools, services, and platform are required for store submissions which will open up for new Windows 8.1 apps beginning at general availability on October 18,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.
Microsoft admits that they do recognize a need for developers to perform app compatibility and other testing/validation before Windows 8.1 is made available on October 18th. It’s nice to see Microsoft go back on their original plans when it goes wrong, and admittedly they’ve been doing it quite a lot as of late, with Xbox One, TechNet and now Windows 8.1 on MSDN and TechNet. If you’ve got an MSDN or TechNet account, go and download Windows 8.1 now!
