Update on Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 and more

Microsoft just released a whole bevy of preview products, which you can find on MSDN.

· Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2. Visual Studio 2008 is a unified development environment that enables developers and development teams to use a consistent programming model to create great applications across a spectrum of platforms, including the Web, Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008.

· .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2.  The .NET Framework 3.5 builds on the user experience, communications, and workflow advances of .NET Framework 3.0 and includes capabilities for better integration with data (LINQ), standards-based Web services support and more.

· Silverlight 1.0 Release Candidate.  Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. This is the last step before the final code ships.

· Silverlight Add-In for Visual Studio 2008 (CTP).  With this add-in, developers can start building Silverlight 1.0 applications from within the Visual Studio 2008 environment and work with their designer counterparts using Expression Blend August preview.  Microsoft expects to deliver the final version of this add-in soon after the final version of Visual Studio 2008.

· GoLive License.  By agreeing to the terms outlined in the GoLive license, developers may build and deploy solutions today using Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2, the .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2, and Silverlight 1.0 Release Candidate.

· Final availability.  Barring unforeseen setbacks, Visual Studio 2008, the .NET Framework 3.5, and Silverlight 1.0 are all scheduled to release to manufacturing (RTM) before the end of the year. 

 

ciao

mags

Windows Server 2008 Certification Tool

I know many of you are looking into Windows Server 2008 (formerly Longhorn Server) adoption and certification. The Innovate on Windows Server group has released a very useful tool to help you with WS 2008 certification/logo program. I have found this tool to be very useful. From this tool you can download most of the required tools for your testing needs, walk through all the test cases within the logo program and record your results. The Certification Tool (Beta) is an excellent resource to get you started/prepared, before you submit your applications to the Certified for Windows Server 2008 program.

You can download the x86 version of this tool here. For x64 version and other information please follow this link.

For Windows Server 2008 Software Logo Specifications document and for other detailed information, please visit: http://www.innovateonwindowsserver.com/

ciao

mags