Microsoft Expression and Silverlight Product Cycles Broken

If you've read my blog more than once, you probably know I'm an unashamed Microsoft cheerleader, especially of the web tools and platform team. ASP.NET, VS, they rock.

But for a company that makes more money in a heartbeat than I'll make in a lifetime, I can't understand how they've managed to make such a mess of the Silverlight and Expression product cycles. This week's announcement of Expression 2.0 beta and Expression Blend 2.5 march 2008 preview at Mix 08 continues the confusing tradition they launched at Mix 07 when I sat stunned in a audience as they announced expression 1.0 release in one demo and killed it in the next slide by announcing the 2.0 beta features on the way.

So as Somasegar writes in "A New Era of Expression":

• There's now a beta of Expression 2. This is of course almost a full year after it was announced at Mix 07. This beta targets last year's Silverlight release and last year's WPF and last year's ASP.NET 3.5
• There's a Preview of Expression Blend 2.5 to go along with Silverlight 2.0 (both to be released later this year?)

Now why would anyone hop on Expression 2.0 if 2.5 is going to be the version for Silverlight 2.0?

• And if you're a developer, you can add to the confusion with Microsoft Silverlight Tools Beta 1  for Visual Studio 2008 which will install beta tools for working with a beta of Silverlight 2 in your VS 2008

Not everything can or should be done all at once, I understand that. But I think if Silverlight and Expression are going to take off (which I hope they do, go team go!) Microsoft has to make these product cycles make more sense to the developers and designers who will use them.