Release candidate of Exchange 2003 available

Computerworld - Customers anxious to get their hands on the final version of Exchange Server 2003 shouldn't have to wait too much longer.
At its TechEd 2003 conference in Dallas today, Microsoft Corp. plans to announce availability of Release Candidate 1 for its new messaging server software, which is designed to run on its recently shipped Windows Server 2003 operating system.
Barry Goffe, group manager of enterprise marketing strategy at Microsoft, said achieving the release-candidate milestone means that Exchange is on target for a summer release. He said a product typically is released to manufacturing within six to eight weeks of the final release candidate. Goffe added that he doesn't expect another release candidate for Exchange Server 2003.
Also today at TechEd, Microsoft plans to announce that SQL Server Reporting Services will ship by the end of the year, Goffe said. SQL Server Reporting Services is designed to enable developers to easily build reports that can be shared in the context of an application.
Microsoft also plans to provide more details about its suite of e-business software applications, code-named Jupiter. Goffe said the first release of Jupiter will likely feature updated versions of Microsoft's BizTalk Server, Content Management Server, and Commerce Server, but the long-term goal is to have a single product.
Also this week, Microsoft plans to announce a directory containing hundreds of third-party applications that carry the .Net Connected logo, Goffe said. The .Net Connected logo indicates that an application is built on the .Net Framework and can be exposed as an XML-based Web service to enable it to interoperate with other applications or services.