Is October "late summer" in Redmond-speak?
Microsoft will launch its Office System 2003 suite of products in New York in October, say sources close to the company.
The October date is considerably later than the June launch that many expected earlier this year. But when Microsoft announced in April that it was adding an unexpected beta refresh to its Office 2003 lineup, many expected the final rollout date for the desktop suite and the growing family of related products would slip to fall.
Microsoft officials have continued to insist that Office 2003 will be a "late summer" deliverable.
"We are still on track for a Microsoft Office System RTM (release to manufacturing) later this summer; it will be available to customers later this year," said a corporate spokesman. "That said, Microsoft believes that "quality trumps date" in a beta test, and we will always put a higher priority on doing what"s necessary to deliver a quality product."