As you may be aware, Citrix have announcd that XenApp 6 (for WIndows 2008R2) and XenApp 5 FP 3 (for Windows Server 2008 and 2003) will be available on March 24 2010.

As well  as a slew of marketing material, there are now free overview training courses available

Alongside XenApp 6, Citrix will release XenApp 5 Feature Pack 3 for Windows Server 2008 R1 and Windows Server 2003. XenApp 5 Feature Pack essentially brings some  HDX technology enhancements and application virtualization features, so you're not forced into going to R2 just yet.

Oddly, for such a big announcement, Citrix have opted to keep the name XenApp - although the Renaming Things Monkies are still at large and the management console has had a name change.

Besides support for R2, what does XenApp 6 give? Using Neil Spellings astute comments as a base you're left with :-

• No more CMC - finally, one console. Now what will we complain about?
• "HDX RealTime audio" - some useful sounding (<- see what I did there) improvements in the audio: for LAN and WAN users which would allow better intergation with telephony apps and delivery of multimedia applications.
  
• "HDX Plug-n-play for Windows portable USB devices" - much better support than in previous releases, maybe further removing the need to mix your XA installation with virtual desktops.
  
• "App-V integration" - allowing tighter integration with the management environment, so handy if you've run with (or are about to run with) App-V rather than Citrix's own streaming environment. If you've any other app streaming solutio, you're still on your own.
  

For a full XenApp 6  feature  comparison list http://www.citrix.com/site/resources/dynamic/salesdocs/Citrix-XenApp-Comparative-Feature-Matrix.pdf and for more info on XenApp 6, visit the XenApp 6 site and checkout the XA6 specific Tech Talk series.

If all of thats not enought, today Citrix announced a new self paced learning course -  Citrix XenApp 6 Technology Overview - which you can access here

Ultimately, XA 6 gives Citrix the "supports R2" badge - but in terms of features to benefit your users - not a massive amount of difference. Bear in mind your XenApp 6 environment is not going to seamlessly integrate with your 5 environment either - there's a new OS for a start.

Moving to XA isn't going to be a quick operation, spend some time working through what it is you need to do to get there with the minimum of fuss and nonsense for your users.

Enjoy.