Images: A view of Microsoft Vista

On Wednesday, Microsoft released its new operating system, Windows Vista, to hardware manufacturers. It marked the end of its development phase and the beginning of the distribution phase.

For more than a year, we have seen various builds--most of them private but some public--with ever-increasing build numbers. Although CNET received a build that is technically a pre-RTM build, all of the markings--both internal and external--read Windows Vista RTM build 6000 and reflect all the final fit-and-finish enhancements expected in a final software release.