Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0 are the next generation development tools and platform for Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, and the Web.

Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0 mark the next generation of developer tools from Microsoft. Designed to address the latest needs of developers, Visual Studio delivers key innovations in the following pillars:

· Democratizing Application Lifecycle Management
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) crosses many roles within an organization and traditionally not every one of the roles has been an equal player in the process. Visual Studio Team System 2010 continues to build the platform for functional equality and shared commitment across an organization’s ALM process.

· Enabling emerging trends
Every year the industry develops new technologies and new trends. With Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0, Microsoft delivers tooling and framework support for the latest innovations in application architecture, development and deployment.

· Inspiring developer delight
Ever since the first release of Visual Studio, Microsoft has set the bar for developer productivity and flexibility. Visual Studio 2010 continues to deliver on the core developer experience by significantly improving upon it for roles involved with the software development process. .NET Framework 4.0 contains numerous improvements that make it easier to develop powerful and compelling applications.

· Riding the next generation platform wave
Microsoft continues to invest in the market leading operating system, productivity application and server platforms to deliver increased customer value in these offerings. With Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 customers will have the tooling support and the platform support needed to create amazing solutions around these technologies.

System Requirements:

· Minimum 75 GB available HDD space
· The host computer must have a minimum of 2 GB RAM, with 1 GB allocated to the host operating system and 1 GB allocated to the VPC.
· We recommend that the host computer CPU be at least a Core Duo 2 GHz processor.
· Service Pack 1 of Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 is required to access the VPC.

The Microsoft Visual Studio delivers on the Microsoft vision of smart client applications by enabling developers to rapidly create connected applications that deliver the highest quality, rich user experiences. With Visual Studio, organizations will find it easier than ever before to capture and analyze information to help them make effective business decisions. Visual Studio enables organizations of every size to rapidly create more secure, manageable, and reliable applications that take advantage of Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system.

Visual Studio delivers key advances for developers in three primary pillars:

· Rapid application development
· Effective team collaboration
· Break through user experiences

Visual Studio provides advanced development tools, debugging features, database functionality, and innovative features for quickly creating tomorrow's cutting-edge applications across a variety of platforms.

Visual Studio includes enhancements such as visual designers for faster development with the .NET Framework 3.5, substantial improvements to Web development tools and language enhancements that speed development with all types of data. Visual Studio 2008 provides developers with all the tools and framework support required to create compelling, expressive, AJAX-enabled Web applications.

Developers will be able to take advantage of these rich client-side and server-side, frameworks to easily build client-centric Web applications that integrate with any back-end data provider, run within any modern browser, and have complete access to ASP.NET application services and the Microsoft platform.

Rapid Application Development
To help developers rapidly create modern software, Visual Studio delivers improved language and data features, such as Language Integrated Query (LINQ), that make it easier for individual programmers to build solutions that analyze and act on information.

Visual Studio also provides developers with the ability to target multiple versions of the .NET Framework from within the same development environment. Developers will be able to build applications that target the .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0 or 3.5, meaning that they can support a wide variety of projects in the same environment.

Break Through User Experience
Visual Studio offers developers new tools that speed creation of connected applications on the latest platforms including the Web, Windows Vista, Office 2007, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008. For the Web, ASP.NET AJAX and other new technologies will enable developers to quickly create a new generation of more efficient, interactive, and personalized Web experiences.

Effective Team Collaboration
Visual Studio 2008 delivers expanded and improved offerings that help improve collaboration in development teams, including tools that help integrate database professionals and graphic designers into the development process.

Use the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5
The .NET Framework enables the rapid construction of connected applications that provide outstanding end-user experiences by providing the building blocks (pre-fabricated software) for solving common programming tasks. Connected applications built on the .NET Framework model business processes effectively and facilitate the integration of systems in heterogeneous environments.

Together Visual Studio and the .NET Framework reduce the need for common plumbing code, reducing development time and enabling developers to concentrate on solving business problems.

The .NET Framework 3.5 builds incrementally on the .NET Framework 3.0. Enhancements have been made to feature areas including the base class library, Windows Workflow Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Presentation Foundation, and Windows CardSpace.

Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition is a comprehensive set of tools that accelerates the process of turning the developer's vision into reality. Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition was engineered to support development projects that target the Web (including ASP.NET AJAX), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Mobile devices.

This Trial Edition is fully functional but will expire after 90 days. This trial software is not supported by Customer Services and Support (CSS)

Requirements:

In addition, Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition requires:
· Computer with a 1.6 GHz or faster processor
· 384 MB of RAM or more (768 MB of RAM or more for Windows Vista)
· 2.2 GB of available hard-disk space
· 5400 RPM hard drive
· 1024 x 768 or higher-resolution display
· DVD-ROM Drive
· Additional features may require Internet access. Fees may apply.


Limitations:

· 90 days trial


Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 Beta

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 includes support for SQL Server 2008, new ADO.NET features such as the Entity Framework, improvements to the WPF designers, WCF templates for Silverlight projects, debugger support for the .NET Framework public symbols and source release, control improvements such as the DataRepeater for Windows Forms and Office 2007 Ribbons for C++, and several general updates for debugging and IntelliSense. SP1 also enhances the stability, performance, and security of many features.

The included .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 adds many new features and fixes, including the following:
· .NET Framework Client Release ("Arrowhead")
· ASP.NET Dynamic Data
· ASP.NET Routing
· ADO.NET Data Services
· ADO.NET Entity Framework

Important: This beta release is for early testing and feedback. As a beta release, we recommend you only install the service pack on test computers. Prior to installation, you should carefully review the included readme file to be aware of any known issues with this release. For example, this service pack has some known compatibility issues with previous releases, including:
· Expression Blend (all versions)
· Silverlight 2 Beta 1 SDK
· Silverlight Tools Beta 1 for Visual Studio 2008

Requirements:

· Minimum: 1.6 GHz CPU, 384 MB RAM, 1024x768 display, 5400 RPM hard disk

· Recommended: 2.2 GHz or higher CPU, 1024 MB or more RAM, 1280x1024 display, 7200 RPM or higher hard disk

· On Windows Vista: 2.4 GHz CPU, 768 MB RAM