Microsoft has announced that its next-generation software development suite, Visual Studio 2005, and its long-awaited new database system, SQL Server 2005, will now appear in 'the second half' of 2005. This is seen as a further slippage for the long-awaited products. (The Yukon version of SQL Server was once anticipated as underpinning the database-oriented filesystem of Longhorn. Similarly, the 'Orcas' version of Visual Studio was originally intended to provide tool support for the Longhorn Windows OS.) Major products do not usual ship in July or August - so if they have not arrived by June then September becomes the first available timepoint. Given the size and history of these products, however, 'anytime before the end of 2005' might be a wiser prediction. Microsoft has announced revised US pricing for Visual Studio 2005, and tweaked subscription terms for its Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscriptions, the channel by which most developers obtain Visual Studio. With the estimated prices being revised downwards, Microsoft will also offer MSDN subs with Visual Studio Professional Edition products at special rates. This is 'to afford small businesses the same subscription benefits as large enterprises,' it states.