There is not a Microsoft Project 2005. That much we know for sure.
The schedule that I've seen published shows private beta late this year
(this is when select parties get to try out the new features for the first
time) then public beta in early 2006 (wherein you typically sign up and can
download or get a copy) and then release sometime in 2006 after they get the
bugs out. I'm expecting it will be somewhat coordinated with the release of
the next version of office.
One good source for information is dieter z's blog.
http://blogs.msdn.com/dieterz/default.aspx
The features that have been publically announced include:
Multi-Level Undo, Recalc Change Highlighting, Server-Side Project Updates
The first two are of interest to desktop users. The server-side updates are
a HUGE change for project server. They allow you to recalculate the schedule
without a round-trip to project pro. This allows you to much more easily
allow schedule updates from other systems or through other means. I consider
this to be a big step forward.
