WinFS is officially dead

It's official. WinFS has been dropped from Microsoft Vista.

This is indicative of the general inability of Microsoft to actually innovate, as opposed to just claim they are innovative. They do a reasonably good job of taking existing technologies and sharpening them (sometimes, sharpening them into a knife to stab their competitors and business partners with). But when was the last time Microsoft actually innovated and created something fresh and new?

WinFS, despite reservations from some tech people, had the potential to be that innovation. But now that potential will most likely go unfulfilled.