Microsoft has reshuffled its roadmaps once again, and begun briefing partners and customers to expect an interim upgrade to Windows XP, dubbed XP "SE", in the first quarter of next year. This buys more time for the Longhorn team to complete the complex task of implementing a native database file store, which Jon Honeyball first revealed to the world at The Register here, last August. In January we exclusively confirmed that the native, SQL Server-derived database would go in Longhorn, with the Blackcomb release - originally earmarked for the transition - pushed out to 2004. XP SE will be principally a consolidation release. Candidates for inclusion are the essential .NET client-side plumbing: the common language runtime (CLR), Internet Explorer 7.0 and DirectX 9.0, and a mature Bluetooth stack.

One caveat: whether an XP SE will actually appear at all is another matter. All such briefings have the flavor of market testing exercise, and from experience we know that Windows roadmaps are only valid until they're superseded, and this can happen fairly frequently until the official, offical product is declared. This is exactly what happened with WinME, and to an extent with Win98 SE.