Isn’t it…interesting…how we’re suddenly seeing all these stories in the IT press about how Wonderful Windows Vista version 2…er…Windows version 7…will be.  I mean…since it’s not going to be released for another year and a half yet at least.  They don’t even have a beta candidate yet, let alone a product that reviewers can try, and already it’s…So Wonderful!

Vaporware, I believe they call it…

In other cases, vaporware may be announced by companies in order to damage the development or marketability of more real products by competitors, sometimes in combination with a campaign of fear, uncertainty and doubt; if customers believe the hype, they may put off purchasing the real product to wait for its vaporous rival to mature.

And who knows…they might even be able to get away with it one more time.  Especially if Steve Jobs keeps jerking around Apple third party developers.  On the other hand…  DOT-NET.