The second beta version of Visual Studio 2010 and Microsoft .NET Framework v4.0 are now available.  VS 2010 and .NET 4.0 deliver significant new capabilities and improvements.  The Beta 2 release was focused on performance, stability, and the integration of the overall feature set.  The development team is awaiting our feedback on the product and preparing for the final release candidate (RC).  Beta 2 includes a “go-live” license, which means you can start using these tools for your production projects.

VS 2010 and .NET 4.0 are slated to be released on March 22, 2010.

Download VS 2010 and .NET 4.0 Beta 2
More details about Beta 2 from Scott Gu

The good news is that Microsoft .NET Framework is installed on a majority of Windows PCs.  The bad news is if you are developing an application with the newest version of .NET (3.5), nearly half of Windows PCs cannot run your app.

Story at DevTopics

Microsoft has launched a new WebsiteSpark program for independent Web developers and companies that build Web applications and Web sites for others.  The program enables qualified developers to receive FREE software, support and business resources from Microsoft for three years.  The purpose is to help independent Web developers expand their business and build great Web solutions using ASP.NET, Silverlight, SharePoint and PHP.

WebsiteSpark provides the following free software licenses:

• 3 licenses of Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
• 1 license of Expression Studio 3 (which includes Expression Blend, Sketchflow, and Web)
• 2 licenses of Expression Web 3
• 4 processor licenses of Windows Web Server 2008 R2
• 4 processor licenses of SQL Server 2008 Web Edition
• DotNetPanel control panel (enabling easy remote/hosted management of your servers)

The only two requirements to join the program are:

1. Your company builds Web sites and/or Web applications on behalf of others.
2. Your company currently has less than 10 employees.

If you meet these requirements, visit the WebsiteSpark website to enroll in the program.  As part of the enrollment process, you can pick either a network referral partner (for example: a Web host or an existing Microsoft partner), or enter a referral code that you have received at an event or from a Microsoft employee.  Or you can send an email to webspark@microsoft.com to get a referral code quickly.

Silverlight is a Web application development framework similar to Adobe Flash.  Microsoft has just released Silverlight 3, a major update that delivers many new features including:

• Hardware graphics acceleration, which lowers CPU usage and enables 1080p HD video over the Web.
• Support for H.264 video, AAC audio and MPEG-4 content.
• Smooth media streaming over HTTP.
• 3D-perspective support that can be used with graphic elements, videos and controls. 
• New bitmap and pixel APIs, and custom effects.
• Out-of-Browser support.  Users can safely install Web applications on their computers, create desktop and Start Menu shortcuts.
• New network detection support to switch between online and offline modes.
• Automatic update mechanism for applications.
• Over 100 UI controls with full styling and template customization support.
• Richer data binding features
• A new DataForm control enables better master/detail scenarios.
• SaveFileDialog support.
• New navigation framework that enables deep-linking and forward/back button integration within the browser. 
• Search engine optimization (SEO) support so that content within a Silverlight application can be indexed by search engines.
• Better text rendering and font support (a common complaint that resulted in the loss of a major customer).
• Better accessibility support.
• Major updates to Expression Blend and Sketchflow.

Download Silverlight 3
Silverlight Community
Microsoft Silverlight Home Page

Microsoft is applying its Community Promise to the C# programming language and Common Language Infrastructure (CLI).  This means that anyone can freely build, sell, distribute or use programs with C# and the CLI without signing a license agreement or otherwise communicating to Microsoft.  This applies to all distribution models including open source and GPL.  Under the Community Promise, Microsoft will not assert its Necessary Claims.

In other words, build all you want with C# and .NET, Microsoft won’t sue you for copyright or patent infringement.

Specifically, this announcement applies to the ECMA 334 (C#) and ECMA 335 (CLI) specifications.

“The Community Promise is an excellent vehicle and, in this situation, ensures the best balance of interoperability and flexibility for developers,” said Scott Guthrie, Corporate Vice President for the .NET Developer Platform.

Microsoft has announced retail pricing for Windows 7 that includes an option to preorder the operating system at a substantial discount. 

From today through July 11, U.S. consumers can preorder an upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows 7 Home premium for $49 or Windows 7 Professional for $99.  However, XP customers must do a clean installation of Windows 7.

Also starting today, buyers of new PCs with Vista installed will receive a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it becomes available.

Retail boxed copies of Windows 7 go on sale October 22.  Microsoft plans to charge $119 for Home Premium, $199 for Professional, and $219 for Ultimate.

In Europe, the EU’s anti-trust ruling has forced Microsoft to ship a special “E” version with the Internet Explorer web browser removed.  Therefore, the European launch will be delayed, and all users must perform a clean installation, even if purchasing an upgrade.

Early reviews are generally positive and indicate that Windows 7 is much better behaved than Vista was when it was first released.

Story at CNN

If you encounter this warning while compiling a Windows Form application in Visual Studio:

The service System.Windows.Forms.Design.IEventHandlerService already exists in the service container. Parameter name: serviceType

The solution is not very obvious, and the help provides no guidance.  After a little experimenting, I discovered an easy solution:

Read the rest of this entry »

Most programmers know that throwing exceptions takes a relatively long time to execute versus normal processing.  Some say throwing exceptions is as much as two orders of magnitude slower than passing arguments (that’s 100 times slower for non-geeks).  However, another article claims there’s almost no impact to throwing exceptions, unless you are running your software in a debugger.

Story at DevTopics >>

Documentation for the next generation of the Visual Studio, the .NET Framework, and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is now publicly available at MSDN.

Visual Studio 2010 Docs
.NET Framework 4 Docs
WPF Docs

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 is now available for MSDN Subscribers.  Visual Studio 2010 is a complete suite of tools for building both desktop and team-based enterprise Web applications.  In addition to building high-performing desktop applications, you can use Visual Studio’s powerful component-based development tools and other technologies to simplify team-based design, development, and deployment of enterprise solutions. 

Visual Studio 2010 Product Highlights
MSDN Subscribers Download

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