Microsoft is announcing the public availability of PowerPivot for Excel 2010.PowerPivot gives users the power to create compelling self-service BI solutions, facilitates sharing and collaboration on user-generated BI solutions in a Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 environment and enables IT organizations...

Microsoft is pleased to announce the next wave of Microsoft Office and related products.  Designed to deliver a unified experience across the PC, phone and browser, this wave includes Microsoft Exchange 2010, Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft...

You can now build Windows Phone 7 apps on the final release of Visual Studio 2010 (VS2010) with the Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP Refresh (WPDT CTP).  Learn more about what has changed at Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP Refresh.Among the changes:This release has been tested to work with the final...

SQL Server 2008 R2 has been released to manufacturing.  It is the industry’s most complete information platform for managing, accessing and delivering information.SQL Server 2008 R2 will be available to customers in early May through Microsoft’s distribution and partner channels.Key enhancements in...

You can now get Silverlight 4 at Get Microsoft Silverlight.  Tim Heuer has put together a blog post that describes the tools that are available.  See Silverlight 4 released.  Availability of tools announcement on Tim Heuer’s blog.For a list of features and how ISVs can take advantage of Silverlight...

ISVs are invited to join Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Beta 2.  Scientists, engineers and analysts tackling complex, data-intensive problems need more computational power to be successful.  Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 provides the answer.  HPC is designed for high-end applications that require high performance...

The final technology preview of SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse has shipped.  ISVs interested in joining the Technology Preview (TAP) that officially starts now should email mdsontap@microsoft.com.This is a significant milestone on the integration of DATAllegro technology as Parallel Data...

Service Packs for SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 have been announced.  The announcement was made on the team’s blog at Microsoft SQL Server Release Services.SQL Server 2008 SP2 is targeted for release in third quarter of this calendar year.SQL Server 2005 SP4 is targeted for release in the fourth...

Microsoft is announcing Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.  Detailed information regarding SP1 will be released over the next several months but Windows Server 2008 R2 has announced that SP1 will deliver two important new features that directly affect Microsoft’s desktop...

The VHD Test Drive Program provides you with the opportunity to build virtual appliances that contain Microsoft and partner software and distribute the software stack as a virtual hard disk (.vhd) to customers and channel partners.You can create pre-installed, pre-configured test appliances.  The program...

Three new toolkits and community previews for data were made available at MIX10.OData – OData extends Atom and supports a number of languages and platforms including .NET, Java, PHP, Objective-C (iPhone and Mac) and JavaScript.  Get the OData SDK.WCF RIA Services – It makes getting an end-to-end solution...

You can download the developer tool s for Windows Phone 7 Series.  The single download includes:Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows PhoneWindows Phone EmulatorXNA Game Studio 4.0One cool thing about this download package is if you already have a version of Visual Studio 2010 RC installed, this will...

Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview is now available for developers.  It includes expanded support for HTML5, hardware-accelerated graphics and text and a new JavaScript engine.You can get Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview to evaluate code refreshes about every eight weeks leading up to the Beta...

Microsoft announced the release candidate (RC) for Silverlight 4 at MIX10.  Silverlight 4 RC provides powerful media and enterprise application and media capabilities, out-of-browser flexibility and world-class tools support via Visual Studio and Expression Blend with Sketchflow to enable robust application...

ASP.NET MVC 2 is now available for Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Web Developer 2008 Express with ASP.NET 3.5.  You can download and install it from the following locations:Download ASP.NET MVC 2 using the Microsoft Web Platform InstallerDownload ASP.NET MVC 2 from the Download CenterThe final release...

Metro for the Windows Azure Platform is open for nominations.  To gain entry to the program, we are specifically looking for ISVs who are willing to adopt one or more win criteria by RTM + 180 days:Deploy into Windows Azure Use Windows Azure Storage Services Store or query data in SQL AzureConnect to...

Software+Services is the next logical step in the evolution of software development and represents an exciting growth opportunity for ISVs.By leveraging the Software+Services model, you can expand service offerings and generate new revenue streams.   Explore numerous options to fit your business by:Add...

If you are working on incorporating Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 into your products, Metro is here to help.  The program is accepting early adoption project nominations.Metro Connect provides a  structured approach for driving early adoption of the technologies.  We are specifically looking for partners...

A new Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Training Kit has been released.  This is a downloadable version of our training content used in Metro training workshops and includes 17 presentations, 21 demos and 26 hands-on labs.  The February preview adds content for Office, SharePoint and Application...

Updated pricing has been announced for the Windows Azure platform AppFabric.  AppFabric helps developers connect cloud and on-premises applications.  Based on feedback from the CTP process, we made the pricing simpler and more predictable.  Service Bus is priced at $3.99 per connection-month, and Access...

Metro for Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 is open for nominations. We are specifically looking for partners and customers that are willing to adopt one or more of these features prior to RTM + 180 days:Visual Studio 2010Applications developed using the new features in Visual Studio Pro 2010.NET...

Retail pricing has been announced for Office 2010.Office 2010 will be offered in four versions, to make it easier to choose a version of Office that’s best for you – Office Home and Business, Office Professional, Office Home and Student and Office Professional Academic.Here’s a chart that outlines the...

Discounts for MIX10 are now available for Metro participants.  MIX10 is a three-day conference for web designers and developers building the world’s most innovative web sites.MIX10 will be held March 15-17, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV.  The Metro team is providing a custom offer to select Metro participants...

Visual Studio 2010 and TFS 2010 virtual machines are now available.These VMs includes everything you need to learn and demonstrate the ALM capabilities of Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2, with the exception of lab management.The VMs are available in the virtualization platform of your choice (Hyper-V, Virtual...

In Bob Muglia’s keynote at the PDC, Cameron Skinner presented a demo focused on some of the most exciting new features coming in Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 4 and the server platform.  The demo was built to align with the following release announcements:ASP.NET MVC 2 BetaWindows Identity Foundation...