I just read this announcement from SQLServerCentral.com

SQL Server 2008 on Feb 27, 2008

At it's annual Worldwide Partner Conference yesterday, Microsoft announced the release dates for it's next trio of products: Windows 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. On February 27, 2008, Microsoft will launch these products in Los Angeles with a wave of kickoff events around the world to follow.

That's 231 days from today and it means that it's time to start getting ready for those upgrades.

I think it is nice to know the launch date but what I really want to know is the release date. The launch date is when the large events that tell us what the new features are and how to use them. The launch usually is close to the release date but in the case of some products like BizTalk server they were months apart. I have very much enjoyed the little time I have spent working with Visual Studio 2008 and can hardly wait for it to be final.