Like lots of developers around the world, I'm reading blogs and waiting for the keynotes from the PDC to start.
A few things have been revealed so far: new Windows Vista build, Office "12", Expression designers and Windows Workflow Foundation (more below).
Well the Office "12" screenshots with the new "ribbon" toolbar can be seen here (via xBetas).
I tried to link to a blog post about Expression but it seems to have been removed, so here is what was available:
Right after VS2005 launch wave, We'll be delivering to our customers and exciting set of new tools for the Designer Professionals,
Microsoft® Expression™ code name “Acrylic Graphic Designer”
Microsoft® Expression™ code name “Sparkle Interactive Designer”
Microsoft® Expression™ code name “Quartz Web Designer” (formerly known as Page Builder / FP12)
We will be using these names in full (all words as above) in all first mentions of the product, on keynote slides, in press releases, and on the expression website at ms.com. These will be announced next week at 8:30am on Wednesday the 14th.
In verbal discussion and presentations at the PDC and with press/analysts, we want to reduce confusion and speak of the products with the following short abbreviations (after first mention). This will optimize for clarity of understanding around functional capability. “Graphic Designer” “Interactive Designer” “Web Designer”
The key question to us on these names will be: “Wow those are long names, what is the real name? Are these code names?”
A: These names are code names. The Microsoft Expression family is the final name of the family of tools, but the individual product names are yet to be announced. Graphic Designer, Interactive Designer, and Web Designer are the functional identifiers for what the products do.
One piece, Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF), sounds interesting... I was guessing something like SharePoint Services / BizTalk Orchestration, but unable to contain my anticipation I thought maybe the updated SDK might have been released to the web given the Visual Studio 2005 RC (last one till RTM) came out yesterday on MSDN downloads.
Well the table of contents works, the actual text is missing at the moment, but it gives some clues... Another piece of the WinFX puzzle!