Announcing Visual Studio 2010 and .NET FX 4 Beta 2

 

I am pleased to announce the release of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Beta 2. MSDN subscribers can download Beta 2 today. The beta will be available to the rest of the world on Wednesday.

Visual Studio 2010 has made significant enhancements since Beta 1. We’ve come a long way in performance and general stability, and while there is more work to do before we release Visual Studio 2010, we hope you’ll like what you see.

Beta 2 also includes integrated tooling for SharePoint, including project templates and debugging support, and runtime and tooling support for developing great Windows 7 applications.

Since Beta 1, new Windows Azure Tools templates make it easy to get started developing Windows Azure applications, and enhanced support for Silverlight 3 databindings let you focus on writing your code.

Team Foundation Server is now included in all versions of Visual Studio 2010 with MSDN. For small teams that need only core development features such as source control, bug tracking, and build automation, TFS Basic offers a simple, streamlined install and runs on server or client machines. Test Elements users will notice a more intuitive and responsive user interface.

We’ve been making improvements to the .NET Framework as well. I’m happy to say that the download size of .NET Framework 4 Beta 2 is greatly reduced from previous versions of the .NET Framework, with most flavors coming in under 50 megabytes. Significant improvements to WPF’s text rendering stack make text sharper. You will notice sharper text in the Visual Studio 2010 editor.

We are also announcing a simplified product lineup and pricing options today, as well as new benefits for MSDN subscribers. For MSDN Premium subscribers, the “Ultimate Offer” will offer access to the next level of Visual Studio 2010 at launch on March 22, 2010. Find out more about the new product lineup and the “Ultimate Offer” here.

Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 is available today for MSDN subscribers and will be available October 21st for public download. Keep an eye on the Visual Studio 2010 Product Page for or sign up to be notified when it becomes available. The team and I are looking forward to hearing your feedback.

Namaste!

Comments

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Looking forward to giving TFS Basic a spin.

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Will Visual C++ Express 2010 include compiler for 64-bit? Or still "C++ Express = no 64-bit development"

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Where does windows mobile development fit in?  Hopefully, express editions will be included this time.

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Congratulations! I am looking forward to trying it out as soon as it is downloaded! I am sure it is a great release!

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Does Beta 2 have a go-live license?

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Does VS 2010 Beta 2 have a GoLive license? Yes. The rights are expressed in the license document inside the Beta 2 product. Tony Goodhew Microsoft Corp.

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Jason: Yes, Express editions are included in the Beta 2 release. Polita Paulus Developer Division Microsoft

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Could you elucidate on "Team Foundation Server is now included in all versions of Visual Studio 2010." All versions of Visual Studio 2010 that include an MSDN Subscription will also include a client & server license for TFS. You will be able to install this either on your client machine (very similar to client side SCM such as VSS) or on a server machine just like TFS 2008.

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    The simplified product lineup eliminates the Standard edition.  No upgrade price is listed for the Professional edition.  Effectively, the new product lineup appears to be a 400% price increase for anyone who needs the Standard edition.  Don't you think this kind of price increase deserves at least a little explanation?

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Joe said: Could you elucidate on "Team Foundation Server is now included in all versions of Visual Studio 2010." Team Foundation Server 2010 will be included in the MSDN subscription that comes with Visual Studio 2010 Professional, Premium, Ultimate, and Test Elements. This copy of Team Foundation Server in licensed for unlimited development and test use (as is all MSDN software) and licensed for one production deployment. These MSDN subscriptions also include one CAL. Team Foundation Server has three installation choices - Basic, Advanced and Custom. Team Foundation Server will also be available in retail for around $500 USD and will include a license term allowing up to five (5) named users without CALs to use Team Foundation Server. To grow to more than five users, simply buy CALs for the new users. This enables small teams of five or fewer to get up and running on Team Foundation Server for as little as $500 USD. Of course having Visual Studio 2010 with MSDN means you can get Team Foundation Server up and running at no additional cost. D7

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    When will the Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 SDK be available?

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    When will the Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 SDK be available?

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Tony & Doug, thank you for the quick response to my question. That is fantastic news. I wish we had this kind of pricing a year ago!

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Was the VStudio banner at the top of this post modelled after the livery on the prototype of the ill-fated Boeing 787? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_787.jpg

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    David Jacobson: We will have a price promotion at launch to help reduce the costs for existing Standard customers, but we aren't announcing specifics at this time. Polita Paulus Developer Division Microsoft

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    @Kevin Kennedy ... The Visual Studio 2010 SDK Beta 2 is also available now to MSDN subscribers, and will be on the public download site Wednesday, Oct 21. Same schedule as VS.

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    What about users like myself who have an active Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition with MSDN Premium subscription with Software Assurance, will my subscription also automatically transition to Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN when Visual Studio 2010 RTMs?

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Exciting! Anyone know of a download location that supports resume? Just had my download fail after 1GB... at which point I am reminded that most of the MSDN file servers don't support download resuming!

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Features wise VS 2010 look promising but why you people suddenly started changing logos for all products. I have been using Visual Studio + MSDN since 1996 and what I have notice is the NEW LOGO design/color are very poor compare to existing one. I think, before changing mainstream features, UI & UX, MS should have conducted a survey to get the feedback from the people who are using these products around the world. These new logos are not giving stand-out impression as previous one. I am sure none of the customers may have asked MS to CHANGE logos & MSDN UX! Hitesh Cheaani, INDIA

  • Anonymous
    October 19, 2009
    Can you do the impossible and delight us by making RTM available on DreamSpark the same day as TechNet and MSDN? Or will we have to wait for months again?

  • Anonymous
    October 20, 2009
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  • Anonymous
    October 20, 2009
    Great, VS works much faster than Beta 1! I'm looking forward on trying the TFS Basic on my laptop (Installing... :D) I must admit I was hoping that covariance and contravariance wast at least implemented on the IEnumerable<T> for this release. Is there any chance we can get those bits before the final release?

  • Anonymous
    October 20, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 20, 2009
    shaggygi: The Microsoft Surface SDK will remain as a separate download. However, you can use Visual Studio to design and build your WPF-based Surface application.  You can find out more about developing for Surface at http://www.microsoft.com/surface/. Polita Paulus Developer Division Microsoft

  • Anonymous
    October 20, 2009
    Ignacio: IEnumerable<T> is covariant in Beta2.  You can check out the documentation below for more details.  Is there some particular behavior you're noticing that would indicate variance is broken with IEnumerable? http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/9eekhta0(VS.100).aspx Melitta, Base Class Libraries Team

  • Anonymous
    October 20, 2009
    WPF based VS210 beta 2 is slow and another stupid move like XP to vista

  • Anonymous
    October 20, 2009
    Why no Windows Mobile support in beta 2 also?

  • Anonymous
    October 20, 2009
    Is there a ISO for the beta 2 (I'm not subscribed to MSDN) ?

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    Is there no ISO Image available? BTW:Info strategy concerning VS2010 of microsoft is just confusing! Too much places (blog, twitters, ...) with different (false) information?

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    I echo the comments about an ISO.  The public download page only lets you download the web installer.  I would like to download at work (where I have a nice fast connection), put the ISO on a USB stick and take it home to install.

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    Please let NON MSDN subscriber to download ISO image! Thank you. (Why this web installer... useless setup...)

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    Pat, RE "WPF based VS210 beta 2 is slow..." Can you please e-mail us (DevPerf@Microsoft.com) with information about your system configuration and the performance problems you're seeing? Thanks, David Berg Microsoft Developer Division Performance Engineering

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    The ISO images of Beta 2 are coming soon. Polita Paulus Developer Division Microsoft

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    Is support for Windows Mobile dropped in Visual Studio 2010?

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    @Jason: Express editions are available from http://www.microsoft.com/express/future/

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    For anyone wanting to download the ISO version, here's the direct link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=dc333ac8-596d-41e3-ba6c-84264e761b81

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    The ISO images are now available at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/dd582936.aspx. Polita Paulus

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    Why doesn't it support Windows Mobile development?

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    Sadly the product crashes for me on startup with an annoying "The application cannot start." error. I have already filed a report at Microsoft Connect: https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=499244

  • Anonymous
    October 21, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 22, 2009
    For those that have asked about mobile support- While Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 doesn’t contain built-in mobile support, we are working closely with the Mobile team to deliver support for mobile development to VS 2010 developers in the future.  If you are looking for tools to do Windows Mobile 6.5 development see here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=20686a1d-97a8-4f80-bc6a-ae010e085a6e Polita Paulus

  • Anonymous
    October 22, 2009
    Hi Anon, The team is looking into how to make the RTM bits available via DreamSpark as soon as realistically possible after we RTM.   -somasegar

  • Anonymous
    October 23, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 24, 2009
    "phuff said: We will have a price promotion at launch to help reduce the costs for existing Standard customers, but we aren't announcing specifics at this time." That will most likely be more expensive than VS2008 Standard :-( I "only" have VS2008TS (MSDNAA-license), and wanted to buy VS2010 Standard so I could sell some small programs, but the Pro-price is way to mutch for me. -> $800 == no VS <-

  • Anonymous
    October 24, 2009
    @Melitta you are right, variance is implemented on IEnumerable. I probably tried it on a project targetting 3.5, My bad! I was a bit to excited on the release. I started trying the new features one by one on a clean project and the variance is implemented on IEnumerable<out T> and it works fine.

  • Anonymous
    October 25, 2009
    I had Installed Beta2, it works for the first time and now I am getting error "The application cannot start". It doesn't write the event log entry to say why?

  • Anonymous
    October 25, 2009
    I got the work around for the error "The application cannot start" from Vs2010 forums

  • Anonymous
    October 27, 2009
    I too am a Standard user. Unless you announce the pricing for us to Pro very soon, I'm jumping to the open source ship. Good move MS!

  • Anonymous
    October 28, 2009
    In response to Michael, Joe and Henry: Unfortunately, a bug made its way into Beta 2 that can result your settings becoming corrupted.  If you run into a dialog on startup that states “The application cannot be started” I recommend running devenv /resetuserdata.  This should get Visual Studio working again.  If this doesn't work, please let us know by sending a bug our way at: https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/CreateFeedback.aspx

  • Anonymous
    October 28, 2009
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 29, 2009
    Hi Jack, Sorry to hear that you had an issue with the MSDN download servers.  Starting on 10/21, you can get the Web download manager tomorrow via the public download channel. This Experience will download a web download manager, which will only download and install precisely what you need in a robust way.

  • Anonymous
    October 30, 2009
    I downloaded and installed VS2010 and runs very well.  I look forward to review the final release. Marcel

  • Anonymous
    November 18, 2009
    I already use it. The new version works well.

  • Anonymous
    November 26, 2009
    I hope Microsoft will reconsider its decision to drop the Standard version of VS 2010. First thing that comes to mind in a year in which Microsoft's profits drop, is that they just need more money to come in. Also it gives the open source community new arguments against Microsoft. Once you start developing for the MS platform, it's not always easy to move away from it, and at that time, MS raises the costs of its entry level development platform significantly. Maybe it's something for European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes to look into.... :-(((

  • Anonymous
    January 31, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    February 15, 2010
    My employer is one that does not buy MSDN subscriptions for its developers and is slow to adopt versions of development tools.  That's fine, that's their business. But for me, I'd like to stay on top of things at home and perhaps do some very small freelance work on the side just to keep my skills up to date.  There is no way I can justify paying that kind of money for the professional edition.

  • Anonymous
    March 20, 2010
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    March 20, 2010
    I meant I'm not paying the kind of money needed for a Professional Edition. Microsoft was one of the last development tool vendors that actually had a decent entry-level SKU available. For shame......

  • Anonymous
    June 06, 2010
    I love VS2010. Thanks for all the work.