With this announcement we unveiled the new product line-up:

• Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN. The comprehensive suite of application life-cycle management tools for software teams to help ensure quality results from design to deployment
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN. A complete toolset to help developers deliver scalable, high-quality applications
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN. The essential tool for basic development tasks to assist developers in implementing their ideas easily
• Microsoft Visual Studio Test Elements with MSDN. The primary tool for manual and generalist testers who need to define and manage test cases, execute test runs and file bugs.
• Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010. The center of gravity for team development, enabling version control, work items tracking, build automation, and reporting.
• Microsoft Visual Studio Team Lab Management 2010. The tools to support virtual labs and enable better developer and tester collaboration when paired with other Visual Studio tools.

What happened to "Team System" you ask? We realized that by creating two Visual Studio brands - Visual Studio and Visual Studio Team System - we had created confusion over the difference between the two products. Visual Studio had been positioned and the basic tool for individual developers and Visual Studio Team System was positioned as the set of tools for development teams engaged in more formalized development with a defined process.

It turns out that nearly all professional developers work in teams small and large, and some use Visual Studio Professional and some use Visual Studio Team System. The consolidation of these two brands united the Visual Studio family as the best tools for development on the Windows platform. Period.

To support both teams using Visual Studio as an ALM solution and individuals currently using Visual SourceSafe and Subversion who would like to use Team Foundation Server we have decided to include Team Foundation Server 2010 in MSDN subscriptions that come with Visual Studio 2010 Professional, Premium and Ultimate as well as Test Elements. This is a full version of Team Foundation Server 2010 and is licensed for unlimited development and test use and one production deployment. We are also including a single CAL.

For teams who want to use Team Foundation Server but who don't have an MSDN subscription, we are changing the retail pricing of Team Foundation Server from around $3,000 USD to around $500 USD. The retail version will come with a EULA exception allowing up to five (5) named users without CALs. More users can be added by buying CALs for them.

We announced today that Visual Studio 2010 will launch on March 22, 2010, and we announced The Ultimate Offer. On March 22, 2010 all customers with an active MSDN Premium subscription will be transitioned up to the next product up the stack.

• Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Editions and Team Suite with MSDN Premium will transition up to Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN.
• Visual Studio Professional 2008 with MSDN Premium will transition up to Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN.
• Visual Studio Professional 2008 with MSDN Professional will transition to Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN.

Here is a video of my boss, Dave Mendlen, discussing all of today's announcements:

More to come....

D7
 

Let’s face it, going to a technical conference is good for your career…

…but it’s not a whole lot of fun.

You need an outlet. You need to have fun.

Cheap beer and lousy pizza.

We are bringing back GeekFest! Join us at Lucky Strike for a night of pizza, beer, and bowling. There is limited invitations available, so what are you waiting for? If you are attending the TechEd 2009 conference and you are a developer, you are invited. To register pick up your "duck" ticket (and wristband) in the TechEd Technical Learning Center (TLC) at the Developer Tools & Languages (DTL) information desk.

You must have wristband to get in.

Monday, May 11, 2009 from 8pm – 11pm
Lucky Strike Lanes at LA Live
800 W. Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90015

You must have a wristband to attend the party. Pick one up Monday
at the Developer Tools and Languages TLC Info Counter.

Of course you can follow me too, but I’m not as exciting.

The Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR introduced a new product architecture that provides a model representation of a database schema and extensibility points to expand support for other database platforms.  Third parties can develop DSPs which implement models to expand the support for specific database platforms and versions.  Quest's Oracle DSP will add support to Team System Development for Oracle and will provide the following Oracle based database project features :

• Offline Schema Development

• Import Schema

• Schema Compare

• Data Generation and Unit Testing

• Refactoring

• and more...

Teams that have benefited by using Team System Database Edition to manage their Microsoft SQL Server database development will also be able to manage their Oracle database's with the same tool and process integration.

You can read more about Quest's upcoming DSP product here.

Recently, BrianKe, GrantH, Mike Iem and I all signed up for a Basic Alpine Mountaineering course through The Mountaineers organization. In this course we are learning all of the skills to climb both rock and glacier summits. This includes rock climbing, belaying, rappelling, traversing glacier, ice axe assistance, self arrest, and crevasse rescue and escape. We need to be able to spend two days climbing 5-10 miles, gaining 4,000 –6,000 feet in elevation a day, while carrying a 30-60 lb pack. Knowing that, you can imagine that I need to do some conditioning.

So, here’s my plan (part of it compulsory):

• Run three times a week for 30 minutes
• Walk twice a week in mountaineering boots, with a 30-lb pack for 2-3 miles
• Weight training twice a week (focus on core, arms and legs)
• Training and real climbs as part of the course:
  • Belay, rappel, and crevasse escape training (31-Jan)
  • Belay escape training (10-Feb)
  • Winter Climb – Guye Peak (15-Feb)
  • Rock climbing practice (indoors) - (22-Feb)
• The guys and I are going to try and work out schedules to do another one or two rock climbing practice sessions as well – not sure that will work out though.
• Ignore all healthy responsibilities on Sundays and eat whatever I want and don’t do any exercise.

There it is – my plan, which has already begun. I’ve been running and walking in climbing boots for the past few weeks. Yesterday BrianKe, GrantH, Mike and I completed the 31-Jan training (above). This was 8-hours of consistent training (with short periods of rest). I personally did three rock climbs and rappels, I did several belay drop-tests (stopping a 200-lb concrete block from falling), and a Texas Prusik escape (see below) with and without a pack (one of the most physically demanding things I have ever done). It was an exhilarating day that left us all exhausted and I’m sure I will feel some muscle aches in the next day or two.

If you haven’t yet, consider getting in on the Fit in February Developer Challenge.

The Texas Prusik

Scott already has the first 20 tricks posted.

The site is also mobile enabled for Windows Mobile, and if you browse the site from your phone, you'll see a nice mobile layout, as well as a mobile version of the video trick.

Check out the Scott's blog and subscribe to the RSS feed if you like what you see.

Blog: http://ScottCate.com/VSTricks

RSS: http://feeds.ScottCate.com/VSTricks

Happy - I'm a PC

Check it out!

That is where my new t-shirt idea came from. With the number of times McCain said "My friends" (23 by my count), and his off the cuff reference to Obama as "That One" I thought a shirt was appropriate.

OK, I'm not really making a t-shirt, yet, but I could.

Tell your friends, tell your boss (heck, maybe you'll get paid to come). One lucky attendee will walk away with a fully licensed copy of Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite.

A Lap Around Visual Studio Team System 2010

In this session you will witness a demo-intensive tour of the upcoming release of Visual Studio Team System. This session will walk-through an example development iteration and highlight some of the advancements, that way you see the new capabilities in context. Expect to see new capabilities being delivered across Team System, including the new Architecture Explorer, architecture layer diagrams, gated check-in, build workflow, branch visualization, historical debugging, test case management and execution, improved work item tracking, and improved support for agile planning. This will be a fast paced, exciting session, filled with demos.

Time and Location

Monday, 13-October, 7:00 PM (networking begins at 6:30 PM)

Microsoft Campus, Building 41, Steptoe Room
http://maps.live.com/?v=2&where1=Microsoft%20Building%2041%2C%20WA&encType=1