The first Community Technology Preview (CTP) of the XML Schema Designer has been released. The XML Schema Designer is a graphical tool for working with XML Schemas. This CTP is targeted towards the Visual Studio developer who needs to interact with XML Schemas in the process of working on an application. It will not require an in-depth knowledge of the XML Schema spec and will be useable by both schema experts and novice users. More info

See all of the improvements that are coming in Visual Studio 2008 with next-generation Web development, integrated development for the Microsoft Office system, and industry-leading designers for Windows Vista. More info

Get the hands-on guidance you need to understand the proven practices and foundational principles of working with the Microsoft Solutions Framework, Version 4. Written by an expert, this essential reference offers practical examples and case studies. More info

Thank you for your interest in VS 2005 Beta Service Pack 1. The Beta Program closed on October 30, 2006. More than 10,000 users participated in this program and we appreciate your feedback. More info

Discover a few points to keep in mind during and after the creation of your web site, such as form referrer check, URL canonization, and so forth. More info

Mono has released version 1.2.6 and it includes a lot of good stuff. One big addition in 1.2.6 for Mac fans includes a native Winforms driver for OS X that lets Winforms-based applications to run without X Server. This is good news because it means better performance, and will allow future themes, and deeper integration, including the use of other Carbon APIs, better drag-and-drop support, docking icons, and other interface improvements. More info

The .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1 addresses issues that were found through a combination of customers and partner feedback, as well as internal testing. More info

Learn how to leverage existing mission critical applications with WCF. This article will detail step by step instructions to consume COM+ application services from WCF clients. The article also discusses how existing legacy applications can interface with newly built WCF services. More info

Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas" is the next generation development tool for Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, and the Web. The March CTP consists of two releases, Visual Studio Team Suite and Visual Studio Team Foundation Server, which are available in a pre-configured Virtual PC image or as self-extracting installation files. More info

SideShow Gadgets for Windows Vista are cool. Writing your own is even better. Find out how it's done. More info