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Microsoft Corporate VP S. “Soma” Somasegar has the news at his weblog:
Today, I’m pleased to announce the availability of the beta of Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1.
Based on your feedback, Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 addresses issues that were found through a combination of customer reports, MSDN Product Feedback Center and internal testing. I know that this Service Pack is a little late in coming. While I regret that it took longer, we wanted to be as thorough as possible about taking your feedback and decided to take the extra time. You can find a technical description of some of the fixes included in this service pack and download the beta by registering on the Microsoft Connect Site. We’ll have the complete list of fixes posted when the service pack releases. Pending feedback from you on this beta, our plan is to ship the final version in the next 3-4 months.
Also of interest was what was revealed about tool support on Vista. Hit the link for all the details but the net is:
I’d laugh about the last item except that whenever I need to whip up a quick client (as opposed to Web) application, I invariably reach for VB6.
When Microsoft first announced Max a year ago, it was a photo cataloging and sharing application that really showed off the Avalon (now Windows Presentation Foundation) graphical interface technologies coming in Vista and being retrofitted to Windows XP. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then and now a new version of Max is available, but for some reason a limited RSS feed reader has been added. I’m not sure exactly what Max is supposed to be other than good looking, like one of those auto show concept cars. Download it here if you would like to take a test drive, but note carefully the system requirements (including .NET 3.0 RC1) and that it’s all beta code.
There are still developers protesting Microsoft’s renaming of WinFX as .NET 3.0, but it is proceeding in step with Windows Vista and Release Candidate 1 was released last week and can be downloaded here:
The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 (formerly known as WinFX), is the new managed code programming model for Windows. It combines the power of the .NET Framework 2.0 with new technologies for building applications that have visually compelling user experiences, seamless communication across technology boundaries, and the ability to support a wide range of business processes. These new technologies are Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, and Windows CardSpace (formerly code named “Infocard”). Microsoft plans to ship .NET Framework 3.0 as part of the Windows Vista operating system. In addition, Microsoft is making these technologies available on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The following Community Technology Preview of .NET Framework 3.0 enables you to continue experimenting with early builds of these technologies, get acquainted with the development experience, and provide feedback to Microsoft.
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Please note that the License Agreement in this pre-release version of the .NET Framework v3.0 does not allow usage in a live operating environment. Information about Go-Live possibilities can be found here.
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This release supports Visual Studio 2005 RTM and is compatible with 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 Technical Refresh.
I suppose I should update my categories – I’m still calling them Avalon, Indigo, and Infocard. Also to get up to speed, there’s David Chappell’s new MSDN paper, Introducing the .NET Framework 3.0.
Some of the “smaller” Microsoft stories of the week that didn’t find a post of their own:
Microsoft Breaks Patch Records:
Microsoft has already put out as many critical alerts this year as it did in 2004 and 2005 combined–and the year isn’t anywhere near over.
And one of the bugs patched by Microsoft last Tuesday was a beaut:
It affects all currently supported versions of Windows, can be exploited without end users needing to do anything, and according to some security watchers, rivals the bug that led to 2003′s destructive MSBlast attack.
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Wednesday, Department of Homeland Defense (DHS) called out a rare warning, and Microsoft acknowledged that the patch should be at the top of every computer user’s or administrator’s to-do list.
MSBlast is often better known as MSBlaster or Blaster and its advent was quite exciting. An exploit for this latest hole has already been published.
In U.K., online advertising overtakes magazines:
Online advertising in the United Kingdom raked in $2.48 billion last year and is now worth three times the U.K. radio-advertising market, Ofcom’s annual report into the communications market has revealed.
Now the fourth-largest display advertising medium in the U.K. behind newspapers, television and direct mail, online outstripped outdoor advertising in 2005, as well as the business and consumer magazine markets.
The situation was described Thursday as “almost unthinkable, going back two years” by the regulator’s chief operating officer, Ed Richards, who said the online-advertising market was now more than a third as big as the television market.
On the subject of online ads, Steve Rubel points out that some big name advertisers want tighter auditing controls to make sure they are getting their money’s worth. Also related, Google published a paper criticizing the methodology of some click fraud auditors and they returned fire. Finally Microsoft researchers described what they have been working on to improve search accuracy and relevance at the 2006 SIGIR conference.
‘Open SOA’ launched — no surprise, no Microsoft:
Other heavyweights, such as BEA, IBM, Oracle, SAP, Sun, Tibco, Progress, and Software AG, have signed on to the advocacy group, which is spearheading two proposed SOA specifications—Service Component Architecture (SCA) and Service Data Objects (SDO)—and make the specs available to others in the industry on a “royalty free” licensing basis. SCA and SDO promise to provide a language-independent programming model for SOA.
MSFTextrememakeover analyzes the Microsoft stock buyback
Modified Xbox 360 Spreads Game Piracy and other bad news for the Xbox in Korea.
Rights Group Blasts Internet Companies Over China Policies. Human Rights Watch dings Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo. The latest is that they want the USA and EU to pass laws prohibiting companies within their purview from storing personal information on servers in China.
Microsoft appoints John Fikany as Vice President of Manufacturing Industry vertical
E-Pass patent claim against Microsoft, HP dismissed
Microsoft Unveils The Director For Halo Movie – Neill Blomkamp
Microsoft Hosts Project to Run PHP on .NET. Looks like support for more dynamic languages is coming.
Microsoft considered bundling an edition of Visual Studio Express with Vista but there were “too many snags,” among which legal problems were foremost.
