A look at the Microsoft product roadmap
WinNetMag | at | by Mike
As has been the case at every Microsoft event this year, executives at the software giant updated the company's product roadmap at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2003 in Los Angeles. First, Longhorn Beta 1 will ship in late summer 2004, possibly right around the time of next year's PDC (not a given, but that my guess); no executives from the company said anything about Beta 2 or the final release date, so don't believe any of the 2006 rumors, at least not yet. XP SP2, as mentioned previously, will be ordered in the first half of 2004. Windows Server 2003 SP1 will be delivered sometime after XP SP2, in the second half of 2004; AMD-64 versions of Windows 2003 will ship at the same time as SP1. A new version of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, codenamed "Lonestar," will ship in the first half of 2004. SQL Server "Yukon" will ship in the second half of 2004, after a widespread Beta 2 release in the first half of the year. Somewhat tied to Yukon is Visual Studio .NET "Whidbey," which will follow a similar trajectory.