Despite repeated denials, Microsoft will indeed release an interim version of Windows XP that will bridge the gap between the initial XP release and Windows "Longhorn," currently due in late 2005 at the earliest. The new XP version will ship as a new retail product that replaces existing XP boxes and as a set of updates, dubbed Windows XP Reloaded, that existing XP users can install separately. Windows XP Reloaded will include all of the features from XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), due by mid-year, as well as a host of other unique features, including Windows Media Player 10, according to sources I contacted this morning.
Other details about Windows XP Reloaded are unknown at this time, though the update kit will apparently include a Web-based installer application that will let users choose between optional features. The possibility of a Windows XP Version 2 release first cropped up over a year ago, but Microsoft officials have repeatedly denied that the company would issue such a release.