And I was just showing my kids how to make a Half-Life 2 map the other day... Kent has posted a link to new information around Half-Life 2 modding on Coding4Fun. This is really cool.

Update 1 for today
The C4F item mentioned yesterday is now live. Not much now, but very cool stuff coming soon. The Half-life Mod Spot on Coding4Fun. It's what Visual C++ was made for ;)

We'll have a headline up on the Visual C++ Developer Center soon.

DevDiv VP Somasegar has posted information about the Visual Studio 2005 launch. Check it out here:

Visual Studio 2005 update
We are now about 77 days from the November 7, 2005 launch of Visual Studio 2005, one of the most significant releases in the history of the Developer Division. We have been releasing Community Technology Previews regularly since Beta 2 and will have one coming out in August as well. I wanted to take a moment and update you on our progress towards shipping the final product....

There's a lot more information in the post, so be sure to read it all.

Earlier this week, DevDiv VP S.Somasegar answered a question about the Visual C++ libraries in his blog. I wanted to make sure Visual C++ Developer Center readers had a chance to see this:

C++ Libraries
I recently got a chance to meet with a number of developers and some MVPs in my trip to the Far East. One of the questions that people asked me was related to Visual C++ and support for libraries in the .NET world. One of the key goals of Visual C++ 2005 has been a commitment to enable you to protect your existing assets as you move forward....

Read the whole thing for the list of libraries with Visual C++ versions.

Stepto posted information today around the Win32/Zotob.A worm. Here's a link to his post:

Guidance pages and information on Worm:Win32/Zotob.A
Ok, earlier this morning we activated our Software Security Incident Reponse Process to respond to a malicious attack known as Worm:Win32/Zotob.A. Our investigation has determined that only a small number of customers have been affected and we're working directly with them. We have seen no indication of widespread impact to the Internet, but we have posted a guidance page as well as an encyclopedia entry on this attack. We will remain watchful for any variants or any further customer impact.

Here's a direct link to Microsoft's incident page for the worm:

What You Should Know About Zotob
Zotob.A is a worm targeting Windows 2000-based systems which takes advantage of a security issue that was addressed by Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-039. This worm installs malicious software, and then looks for other computers to infect.

As always, the bottom line with this type of thing is to make sure that you're fully patched, you're using a firewall, and that your antivirus signatures are up-to-date. Also be sure to subscribe to the MSRC blog for the latest information; it's a great resource.

Visual C++ PM Kang Su Gatlin let me know that he's posted a listing of the offerings availble for C++ developers at this year's PDC. Looks like there's lots of good stuff to see and do. Get the details here.

I'll be at the MSDN booth Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so be sure to stop by and say hi if you get a chance.

Allen Denver posted a note in his blog to let us know the VSSDK 2005 August CTP is now available. Here's a link:

Visual Studio Partner Programs Downloads
The August SDK adds 2 C# samples ( Package, MenusAndCommands ) that have been rewritten to our new quality level. It will work only with Visual Studio Beta2. This is unsupported and its not recommended to install this version of the SDK onto your main production machine - use with caution. We welcome your feedback through the extensibility newsgroups.

In my ongoing effort to link to every SDK in the world, here's the WinFX Beta 1 SDK for your coding pleasure.

Microsoft® WinFX ™ Software Development Kit for Microsoft® Pre-Release Windows Operating System Code-Named "Longhorn", Beta 1 Web Setup
The WinFX SDK contains documentation, samples and tools designed to help you develop managed applications and libraries using WinFX, which is the set of next-generation managed APIs provided by Microsoft. This release includes documentation about using the .NET Framework 2.0, the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code named Avalon), and the Windows Communications Foundation (formerly code named Indigo).

Here is a direct link to the ISO, if you prefer to install from a disc. (Thanks to Norm Diamond for pointing out that I was linking to an earier version.)

I saw on GameDev.net that the NVIDIA 9.5 SDK is now available for download. Get the goods here:

NVIDIA SDK
The NVIDIA SDK includes hundreds of code samples, effects, and helpful libraries to help you take advantage of the latest in GPU technology. The latest release includes:

SLI Best Practices code sample

Transparency Antialiasing code sample

GPU video and effects using shaders

Percentage Closer Soft Shadows effect

Dozens of new and updated effects for shadows, image processing, visual debugging, and more

Image processing code samples showing how to do convolutions, compositing, discrete cosine transforms, and more

Computing image histograms using occlusion queries

Update: I changed the name of the file because I left a space in it when I first posted it. This was causing download problems. Hopefully the new link will fix. Sorry for the inconvenience.

In the middle of this crazy Windows Vista beta launch, I was able to attend Meltdown this week. This is a great conference. Everybody is insanely smart, and I learned something in every presentation I saw. Check out the slides if you get a chance. They're pure gold.

Meltdown 2005 Presentation (50 Mb zip)
Get up to date with the latest presentations from Meltdown 2005. All presentations given at the Windows, Graphics, Visual Studio, and Business/Publisher tracks are available for immediate download.

You can always get the latest on DirectX at the DirectX Developer Center.

After a flurry of hard work by people from all over Microsoft, we propped the Windows Vista Developer Center today. Get the details here:

Microsoft Windows Vista Developer Center
Windows Vista introduces breakthroughs in user experience, security and reliability, enabling you to build applications that bring clarity to the user's complex world of information.

Check out the site from a design perspective, even if you're not doing Windows Vista development yet. Duncan Mackenzie and Laurie Moloney get a ton of credit for pulling this together.