A loose-lipped Acer spokesman appears to have put a date on Windows 7. Quoth Bobby Watkins from Acer UK:

23rd October is the date the Windows 7 will be available. There is a 30 day upgrade time so that customers don’t wait to buy a new computer, so if you buy during that 30 day period, you’ll get a free upgrade to Windows 7.

Gasp! And here we were expecting to maybe be able to order it around Christmas! Instead, it’ll apparently be around for Acer to pack onto their recently announced Z5600, which they say is built for 7.

Of course, there’s no guarantee this information is what it appears to be; maybe “availability” to Watkins means a date Microsoft has pledged to have finalized pricing or something. At any rate, I’m guessing we’ll soon hear from Microsoft on this issue. I say the sooner, the better.