Summer is typically a slow time for computer sales, but it’s often the busiest time of the year for software and PC makers, who massage new products into sellable form. This summer, Microsoft is busier than ever prepping several important upgrades and prereleases–all of which will ship soon–for its core products. Planned for July are Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) and Windows .NET Server  Win.NET Server) Release Candidate 1 (RC1). In August, Microsoft will ship the important Windows XP SP1 release, which will form the foundation for two other upcoming releases: Windows XP Media Center Edition (XP MCE–code-named Freestyle) and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition (code-named Mira), both of which will ship late this year with new hardware.