Microsoft needs Windows 7 to succeed in the same way the Murray Darling basin needs rain – if it doesn’t happen quickly, the results will be disastrous.

The software monolith has been in dire need of a success story since unleashing Vista on an unsuspecting world back in 2007. If Windows 7 fails to overcome the disappointment that followed that launch, the company’s future could be bleak.

Now, obviously there are a lot of very intelligent people at work within Microsoft and they understand the task ahead of them all too well. Windows 7 has to be a demonstrable step forward as soon as it’s launched. Any early problems will only add fuel to the Vista-hating fire.

That said, it’s interesting to see just how quickly Microsoft is pressing ahead with the final tweaks of Windows 7. This past week news surfaced that May 5 has been earmarked as the day when the Windows 7 release candidate (RC) will become available for download. This hasn’t been officially confirmed by Microsoft but it does give a pretty good idea of just how keen the company is to get the software into the computer-using public’s hands.

Indeed, Windows 7 has gone from being something just talked about to what is obviously an almost-ready operating system in a very swift period of time. It’s as though Microsoft had known what a dud Vista would be from the moment it was launched.

For those who have been suffering with Vista for the past couple of years, a shipping version of Windows 7 can’t come fast enough.

And for the even larger group who have remained with Windows XP, it could mark the time to finally take the big upgrade step.

Either way, put a note in your diary for May 5. It might just be the start of something worthwhile.

Here’s hoping.