From the Microsoft press release entitled Microsoft Rallies Developers to Build Next-Generation Applications we learn
LAS VEGAS — Nov. 6, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today unveiled new
technologies that enable developers to build next-generation
interactive applications for Windows Vista™, the 2007 Microsoft®
Office system and the Web. The new technologies are designed to help
developers build Web services and connected, service-oriented
applications that deliver the levels of security, reliability and
differentiation that business and consumers expect.
...
The technologies announced today include the following:
• The release to manufacturing of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0, which provides advances for building rich, interactive client applications (Windows Presentation Foundation), communication and workflow (Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation) and online identity management (Windows CardSpace).
So it looks like v1 of Avalon, Indigo and InfoCard are finally out. Congratulations to all the people who've been working on these technologies for the last couple of years. It'll be interesting to see what kind of changes to Windows GUI applications comes from the availability of WPF and also whether the developer community agrees that WCF supports building RESTful Web services as much as some folks have been telling me.