Over on the SharePoint Team blog an announcement was posted about the future distribution of Windows SharePoint Services:
… There is SharePoint-related news posted on the Windows Server team’s blog today. Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 will return to being available as a separate download for Windows Server 2008 customers. There is no pricing difference though and WSS will remain no additional charge for our Windows Server customers. This is notable for Windows SharePoint Services customers who have downloaded any of the Windows Server 2008 evaluation code, as the return to offering WSS as a separate download will take effect with the next Windows Server 2008 release candidate.
For more information see the Windows Server Team Blog: http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/archive/2007/10/29/windows-server-2008-and-windows-sharepoint-services-3-0-update.aspx …
Source: Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Team Blog