Late last month Microsoft announced that Windows 8.1 had reached the RTM phase, that particular build was leaked soon after that. The company initially didn’t allow developers to download the final copy of Windows 8.1 before its October 18th official release date. In a blog post today, the company says that it has heard complaints from MSDN and TechNet subscribers and has decided to make the copy available to them from today.
Apart from making the Windows 8.1 Core and Windows 8.1 Pro edition available today on MSDN and TechNet, Microsoft has also released a Visual Studio 2013 RC build for developers. The company says that this build is not final, but its good enough to enable developers to “make progress to ready their Windows 8.1 apps.” However before the apps can be listed in Windows Store before the October 18th launch, they’ll need to go through final refinement. In the past, the RTM build meant that no changes would be made to that particular version of Windows before its public release. This time around, it is believed that the Windows 8.1 RTM build isn’t really final, and that the company is going to update its built-in apps and fix several bugs prior to the release next month.