<p>Microsoft has signed off on the Office RTM build, meaning the suite is on track for a 1Q13 launch.</p><p>The Microsoft Office blog reports that Office 365 has reached an important milestone, as the engineering team signed off on the Release To Manufacturing (RTM) build on Thursday. The coding and testing of the suite is now complete, and the team will now focus on releasing the new Office via multiple distribution channels to consumers and businesses.</p><p>"This is the most ambitious release of Office we've ever done," admitted Kirk Koenigsbauer, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's Office Division. "It spans the full family of Office applications, servers and cloud services. The new Office has a fresh, touch friendly design that works beautifully on Windows 8 and unlocks modern scenarios in social, reading, note-taking, meetings and communications. We are proud to achieve this milestone and are eager to deliver this exciting release to our customers."</p><p>The general availability of Office 365 is planned for the first quarter of 2013. However, customers purchasing Office 2010 from local retailers or resellers can get the new version for free upon availability, starting October 19. As previously stated, a preview version will be supplied on Windows RT devices starting October 26.</p><p><a href="http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Office-360-Office-2013-RTM-Windows-8-Windows-RT,18368.html">Keep reading...</a></p>