News about the next version of Microsoft"s Windows Live software and services offering (codenamed Wave 4) has been leaking all over the place recently, with milestone 2 of the actual Windows Live Essentials software package even appearing on the Internet last week.
So far the testing of the software has been kept very secretive, with apparently only 18 official testers outside Microsoft in Europe and a few more in North America. Now, however, a roadmap has been leaked detailing the dates of when the general public will finally be able to get their hands on an official version of Windows Live Wave 4.
Spanish blogger and official tester Francisco Martín García has shed more light on the current situation of Wave 4, confirming that the version that leaked last week was from milestone 2 (as indicated by its version number of 15.2.xxxx.xxx) and was "built between December 2009 and January 2010." Apparently just over a week ago testers received a milestone 3 version, built on 26 February 2010 and with version number 15.3.2634.226.
On to the actual roadmap, and García reveals the following dates:
- 28 April - the selected testers "get access to latest builds"
- 18 May - Windows Live 2010 M3 RTW (release to web)
- 3 June - "complete public disclosure" (and compile date for the public beta, according to MuyWindows)
- 7 June - "public beta" released
- 7 June - Messenger for iPhone released in "main languages"
- 25 August - "additional languages" for Messenger and iPhone, and public RTW of the final version
While this timetable of events hasn"t been confirmed and if real will only be provisional, whatever happens it looks like we will have to wait for quite a while yet before trying out Windows Live Wave 4 for ourselves.
Update: Francisco Martín García"s blog seems to have been taken down and his Windows Live profile removed. Unsurprisingly it seems Microsoft don"t want this information out in the open. The information is still up at MuyWindows and Wikikou.fr.