We are pleased to declare that Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1 Beta and the .NET Framework 4 KB2162169 Beta will be supported as a “go live” release. This means that this software has met high standards of quality for a pre-release, and we are licensing it for developing and deploying production applications.

We hope that you will consider using this beta for “go live” production purposes. As you do, we want to hear from you at our Connect Site if you find any bugs.

In order to decide whether or not using this release in a “go live” scenario is right for you, you should carefully understand the terms and limitations of the “go live” license. Start by reading the license terms (during install or on disk afterward), which include the official “go live” licensing terms.

VS2010 SP1 Beta and the .NET Framework 4 KB2162169 Beta are licensed for use through June 30, 2011 at which point you’ll need to upgrade to the final release to continue using the product.

The following guidelines should also help you understand the ways in which we are committed to helping you have a great experience with this release:

  • We are committed to providing a smooth upgrade path from Beta to the final release (“RTM”) of Visual Studio 2010 SP1 and the .NET Framework 4 KB2162169 Beta. 
  • We give you permission to use VS2010 SP1 Beta to create applications using runtimes which are “go live.” Both the .NET Framework 4 RTM and the .NET Framework 4 KB2162169 Beta being released today are “go live” and you can create applications both for internal use and external use. See the license terms for more details, including pre-release notifications and other details for distribution. 
  • Our Support team is staffed to help you if you encounter problems with this release. If you plan to use it for “go live” please send email to vsgolive@microsoft.com so that we can register you for beta level support.
  • Another option for requesting assistance is to visit MSDN Forums. The MSDN Forums are frequented by Microsoft MVP’s and members of the product group, and are a great place to search for issues submitted by others which might match problems you encounter. 
  • You should take adequate measures to back up and protect your data prior to installing the beta. You should also have an ongoing data backup and protection plan in place during your use of this prerelease.

Thank you again for your ongoing commitment to Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. With your assistance and ongoing feedback we make Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 even better!