This situation is kind of odd ... let me explain briefly ...

In a business, the business processes and requirements that said drive the use of technology, including SQL Server, within that business. This accelerated version cycle at first sounds great but soon turns into the case of 'the tail wagging the dog'.

We have over 100 SQL 2000 instances that will eventually be upgraded to either SQL 2005 or maybe SQL 2010/SQL 2011. But remember, SQL 2000 SP4 is slated to be supported until 2013 ! If it ain't broke it ain't gonna get 'fixed'. There is no real ROI, just a black hole of expense for no reason other than to have 'our tail wag us' and probably many others as well. Just look at the adoption rates.

MS is doing good work and has in the past. However they just might want to rethink 'the tail wagging the dog' when it comes to releases.