Yesterday, in a stunning move that will likely have ramifications for the next Windows version (code-named Longhorn), Microsoft delayed the next versions of SQL Server (code-named Yukon) and Visual Studio .NET (code-named Whidbey) from late 2004 until the first half of 2005. Both products have been in beta since last fall, and Microsoft issued early releases of both to Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2003 attendees in October. "Microsoft made the decision to delay the delivery of these products to ensure that they meet the high-quality requirements of our customers," a Microsoft representative told me yesterday. "We are still on track to deliver SQL Server Yukon Beta 2 and Visual Studio [.NET] Whidbey Beta 1 in the coming months." Yukon and Whidbey comprise the Yukon wave of products that Microsoft says it will ship prior to the Longhorn wave, which will include new versions of Microsoft Office, MSN, Visual Studio .NET, Windows, Windows Server, and other products. If Microsoft delays the Yukon products until 2005, Longhorn probably won't ship until the first half of 2006 at the earliest.
End of Article
Ya don't say Paul
bob short March 10, 2004
They're probably developing on Windows XP boxes, and every time they try to do something, an annoying window pops up asking them what they want to do, suggesting a better way, or requesting security information.
Such is life with "inductive" (or is it "iterative"?) interfaces.
Paul Fan March 10, 2004
Good.
Stephen March 10, 2004
Stunned?!?! I'd be stunned if they shipped it on time.
Latch March 10, 2004
Oh wow, I'm really caught up in the hype of all this! I have stuff that is not vapourware and actually works, so obviously I'm in a minority.
David March 11, 2004
I would hope that the delay is due to Microsoft working to make double-sure that the next generation of its various products are free of potential security or DoS holes. Of course, given their current position in the public eye, I'm not surprised that they might be reticent about actually saying so - people will then want to know when they are going to fix all the holes in their existing products!
Alan Ralph March 11, 2004
LOL, y'all just can't wait to jump all over MS for delaying 6 months.
Given the explosion of features in Yukon (app server integration with runtime db, new etl/olap tools, lots of query enhancements, etc) and .NET 2.0 (object spaces [compare to Hibernate/Castor], msbuild [nant], etc) and VS.NET (refactoring, msbuild is native project type), it's not shocking.
If its stable out the door then I do not mind the wait.
This is not vaporware folks - go look up the meaning of vaporware. This stuff is testing-ready now and ought to be dev-ready by end of the year.
But if you are inferring that MS is using the unreleased Whidbey to hold back users from jumping to competing technology, please make a case to demonstrate why that's true.
DaveG March 11, 2004
Article should read as follow:
NEWSFLASH: Nobody Cares About Microsoft Anymore
Yesterday, in a not so surprising move that will likely not have any ramifications on crap that is the next Windows version (code-named Longhorn), Micro$oft delayed the next versions of SQL Server (code-named Yukon) and Visual Studio .NOT (code-named Whidbey) from late 2004 untl the first half of 2005. Both products have been in beta since last fall, and Microsoft issued early releases of both to Microsoft not-so-Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2003 sheep in October. "Microsoft made the decision to delay these products because they will never meet the high-quality requirements of customers," a Microsoft FUDer told me yesterday. "We are still on track to deliver SQL Server Yukon Beta 2 and Visual Studio [.NOT] Whidbey Beta 1 in the coming years." Yukon and Whidbey comprise the Yukon wave of products that Microsoft says will ship prior to the Longhorn wave of catastrophe, which will include more bloat, new exploits, and more user restrictions in Microsoft Office, MSN, Visual Studio .NOT, Windows, Windows Server, and other crapware. If Microsoft delays the Yukon products until 2005, the world won't begin to suffer from Longhorn until the first half of 2006 at the earliest.
X March 11, 2004
To Dave:
I'm glad they are delayed, that's why I said "Good".
To X:
If you dislike Microsoft so much, go use a Mac or Linux. But don't be surprised when you tire of dragging the no-right-click mouse and pointer up to the menu everytime you want to perform the simplest action on your Mac .. or discovering that the GUI running on your Linux supports drag-n-drop.NOT
Stephen March 12, 2004
X: I hate to tell you this, but there is a difference between "being a good, morally upstanding, Microsoft-hating citizen" and "seizing every chance one gets to whine and complain nonscensically about every little thing". If you feel so strongly about this, just switch to Linux already and leave the rest of us to suffer in peace.
P.S. It's actually kind of sobering when one realizes that Longhorn was originally intended to ship in late 2004. We could already be sampling betas by now. To tell you the truth, I'm actually kind of glad that Longhorn won't arrive until mid-2006. My next major computer purchase will be in 2007, so I should be able to get my new computer just after Longhorn SP1 comes out.
Ah, the wonders of the technology age.
Fakename N. Address March 13, 2004
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bob short March 10, 2004