Microsoft expects to release version 1.0 of Atlas by year's end with full support. This means that "Microsoft product support services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and that any customer can obtain hotfixes if they encounter a bug affecting their application. It also means that the product has a committed servicing product lifetime of 10 years - which provides companies with the ability to depend on it for mission critical applications" ( Scott Guthrie).
The Atlas project will be divided into three components.
- The Microsoft AJAX Library is a cross-browser, client-side library. Because this is purely client-side, people are already using it for non-Microsoft platforms like PHP and ColdFusion. Currently it supports FireFox, IE and Safari. Opera compatibility is currently in the works, but it is too soon to say if it will be fully supported.
- The core of the server-side functionality will be called ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions.
- The shared-source controls and components currently found in the Atlas" Control Toolkit will be offered in the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit.
The current CTP of Atlas can be found on the Atlas Downloads page. But if your willing to wait a little while, Shawn Burke claims says they are busy readying a new version. New features include three new controls, integrated profile support, and a customizable animation framework.
