What do you do when you’ve been promising a product for 4 years, and now your inability to deliver is becoming a joke? What do you do when you need to push back your release date yet again, but you can’t bear more rants from your cherished customers?

Well, if you’re Microsoft and you’ve promised a summer release date, why not just change the definition of “Summer”?

Please read: Microsoft Clarifies SQL Server Ship Date.

I always thought it was commonly understood in the United States that “Summer” indicated anytime in the months of June through August. However, Microsoft has indicated that they are not altering SQL Server’s release date–they are merely clarifying what they meant by indicating “Summer 2005″–by rewording it to “the second half of 2005″, which I understand as anytime in the months of July through December.

Don’t rest on the crutch of petty word games; if you can’t release your product by your latest promised release date, accept the truth and report it as such. I’m sure SQL Server will barely make a 2005 release date, if at all.