Now that I've spent a couple months doing nothing but learning Katmai and working on the SQL Server 2008 Bible, here are my thoughts so far:

• Management Studio is really pretty cool. I like the new IntelliSense, the new multiple server features, and a few other things I can't write about.
• PowerShell has the potential to radically change the way DBAs script and interact with SQL Server.
• T-SQL isn't as upgraded as I might like, but I do like the changes that are there - composable SQL and Table Valued Parameters provide new ways to connect the Lego blocks of SQL.
• Policy-Based Management is a huge step forward for enterprise DBAs - probably the biggest new feature in Katmai.
• Lots of stability enhancements to the HA features.
• FileStream, compression, encryption, date time data types, spatial - lots a good new features for developers.
• BI, especially RS has some nice upgrades.
• The Performance Data Warehouse is a huge idea and lays the foundation for more good stuff in the future.
• I still miss Surface Area Configuration, and T-SQL debugging - key features for the casual DBA.

My first impression was that Katmai was an evolutionary release without as much bang as Yukon. I've heard folks explain Katmai as the second step of Yukon, in the same way the SQL 2K was the second step of SQL 7. But my view is evolving and the more I see of Katmai, the more impressed I become. Katmai IS a major release with potentially a greater practical change to how DBAs actually do their job than Yukon.  

About the "3 month slippage" - I'm pleased with the release schedule. Releasing a product with as many technologies as SQL Server, localized to as many languages as SQL Server, and deployed in as many critical applications as SQL Server, is a complex task. If the good folks at Building 35 need more time to nail the release, that's fine by me.