To all: state of the release
With our current glide path we are hopeful for 02/14/2007 post date. What happened? Have you ever heard of feature creep?
This release has been tedious on several levels. We totally changed the install engine for SF, remember the uninstall - reinstall process, well no longer. The new Enterprise Server will be incorporated, a new sample console, new samples, numerous enhancements and bug fixes.
Currently we are pounding out the collateral for the Enterprise Server. We are trying to make its presentation replete enough that you can use the contents within your presentations to your clients. Additionally, we went the extra mile and created an install for the ES that you can use during its deployment. It takes a somewhat complicated task and reduces it to a more simple install. We made the decision to include transaction processing across a server farm and it cost us some time. But it is complete and the larger users will not have to wait for an update.
Long story short: we are on the job and will not stop until publish time.
P.S. You are going to be amazed with the Enterprise Server, the SF team did an incredible job. It will enhance your software arsenal immensely.