The following is the full text of an article published by Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy & technology. Each month we make one or more key articles available to non-subscribers.
The release of several products on the Windows roadmap in the first half of 2005 did little to reduce the number of impending releases, due to the addition of new work items. In the first half of 2005, Microsoft has already shipped Windows Server 2003 SP1 and the 64-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 for the AMD and Intel x64 processors. (See the boxes with white backgrounds in the illustration above.) But at the same time, Microsoft has added feature packs that give Windows XP some "Longhorn" features (the "Avalon" graphics and "Indigo" messaging system) and a new version of Internet Explorer (7.0) for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1.
