Capabilities for 3D visuals, animation, and video clips were highlighted with this functionality being extended to both Windows and Web applications.

While the company's Expression design tool line was the star of the show, Microsoft officials also hailed graphical improvements featured in Windows Vista and the 2007 Office suite. Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technologies were detailed as well.

"First, our overall theme today is going to be design because that's what these tools are really about," Eric Zocher, general manager of the Microsoft Expression product line, said.

"It's starting to become accepted wisdom that the experience is the product. The product is the experience, and software is really no different," Zocher said. "It needs every aspect of design. It needs to be designed in form and function and also have flair," he said.

Zocher did acknowledge Microsoft's technologies have some overlap with offerings from rival Adobe Systems. "It's the Web part of Macromedia's line [that was merged with Adobe] that we overlap with," he said.