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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Microsoft Product Manager for Developer Security Rick Samona , with the help of Foundstone , has created a new feature for the Security Developer Center called Spot the Bug. The way this works is that Rick will post a new bug in his blog every so often and you can take a shot at guessing the bug in the...

If you missed Tech-Ed in Orlando, many of the sessions are now available online. Check out the site here: Tech-Ed 2005 Webcast Series Did you miss a breakout session at Microsoft Tech·Ed 2005 in Orlando, Florida, or have co-workers who could not attend? Tune in to our "best of" Tech·Ed...

We added a new section to the Visual Studio 2005 Beta Home Page today. It's in the MSDN Forums: Questions Needing Answers section. This set will show you a few of the latest unanswered questions in the MSDN Forums . It even has an RSS feed if you feel like jumping in on these at a moments notice. Many...

New on the download center. If you're doing embedded Visual C++ development, you'll want to take a look at this: eMbedded Visual C++ Upgrade Wizard for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 This addin will install into Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 and allow upgrade of eMbedded Visual C++ 3.0 and eMbedded Visual...

Yesterday we posted a patch for Visual C++ in Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2. Check out the Download Center page for details: Visual Studio 2005 Beta2 Patch for Visual C++ Developers This patch updates the C++ IDE language service DLL (vcpkg.dll) to provide proper upload of usage data for the Customer...

Today we posted a new article on the future of MFC by Steve Teixeira . We're headlining the article on the Visual C++ Developer Center . MFC: Visual Studio 2005 and Beyond The Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) Library continues to be the most popular C++ application framework in use today. In this...

The PAG team has a new security wiki up on Channel 9. Check it out here: Welcome to the patterns & practices Security Wiki Welcome to the patterns & practices Security Wiki. This is where we think out loud. Here youll find emerging practices, guidance for application scenarios, security engineering...

Don't miss Steve Ballmer's Tech-Ed 2005 Keynote on Monday. Here are the details and link: Steve Ballmer Tech·Ed 2005 Keynote: "Delivering New Value to the Business" Orlando, Florida June 6, 2005, 9:00 A.M. Eastern, 6:00 A.M. Pacific Time Keynoting Microsoft's largest annual technology education...

We've got a draft of the updated document that I'm planning to post Monday around using Visual C++ 2005 Express with the Platform SDK. There are a couple of issues that are tackled in the article and the workarounds should get you up and running. First, there is an issue with the dialog box that lets...

I actually found this download via ActiveWin . Here's the scoop: The download "repairs access to .NET Framework Reference help content in Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition Beta 2." Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition Beta 2 Help Fix The Beta 2 Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions shipped with an issue...

Today we posted new content around .NET Framework version compatibility. Here's a link to the primary document: Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and 2.0 (Beta) Compatibility The Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 builds on the success of the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.0 and 1.1 to provide the best runtime environment...

Barak let me know that the Microsoft Component Installer Software Development Kit is live on the download center. ISVs can use this tool to make sure their customer's computers have the necessary Windows components installed. Visit the page here for more information: Microsoft Component Installer...

The Windows Embedded Team is reporting that Billg's keynote will be Webcast live on Tuesday. Didn't come to MEDC? Don't fret, the keynote will be a live Webcast! Bill Gates is giving the keynote speach to Mobile and Embedded Developers Tuesday. If you couldn't come (tsk tsk, maybe next year?...

It looks like registration is now open for Meltdown, which is scheduled for July 26 and 27 in Seattle. (I'm bugging my boss now to let me go.) Here's the page with the details: Meltdown 2005 - Gathering the Superheroes of Game Development Join us at Meltdown 2005 in Seattle to celebrate the 10...

We know that some people are having difficulty with the Visual Studio 2005 installation process and so we have some resource pages available right now. This weekend, we posted a tool to help clean up a previous installation (Beta 1 or CTP) before installing Beta 2. Here's the list of documents and tools...