Microsoft's upcoming summer of tester love (podcast style)

Microsoft has a lot of new apps and services slated to arrive in the June/July timeframe. Company watchers are awaiting everything from possible new entertainment services for their Zunes and Xboxes, to the SharePoint Server 2010 Community Technology Preview.

What's real vs. rumored? What kinds of new features will be delivered (and go missing) with all the new test releases coming this summer? Those topics and more are the subjects of two different podcasts in which I had a chance to participate late last week.

In the latest episode of MicroBite, the Register's Gavin Clarke and I conduct a whirlwind tour of all the different Microsoft products set to go to testers over the next few months. We also discuss the ramifications of Microsoft missing the back-to-school market with Windows 7 (if the company does, in fact, miss it).

Over on the Zunited site, Jared Marino and I talk about the many intertwined Zune HD/Windows Mobile rumors and leaks. With Microsoft doing little to try to separate fact from fiction, it's anyone's guess as to how and when we'll see the expected next-gen Zune players, software, Pink phone/services and more.