Silverlight 2 Beta 2
At TechEd, Soma Somasegar and Bill Gates announced that Silverlight 2 Beta 2 will be publicly available later this week.
The features include the following:
· UI Framework: Beta 2 includes improvements in animation support, error handling and reporting, automation and accessibility support, keyboard input support, and general performance. This release also provides more compatibility between Silverlight and WPF.
· Rich Controls: Beta 2 includes a new templating model called Visual State Manager that allows for easier templating for controls. Other features include the introduction of TabControl, text wrapping and scrollbars for TextBox, and for DataGrid additions include Autosize, Reorder, Sort, performance increases and more. Most controls are now in the runtime instead of packaged with the application.
· Networking Support: Beta 2 includes improved Cross Domain support and security enhancements, upload support for WebClient, and duplex communications (“push” from server to Silverlight client).
· Rich Base Class Library: Beta 2 includes improved threading abilities, LINQ-to-JSON, ADO.NET Data Services support, better support for SOAP, and various other improvements to make networking and data handling easier.
· Deep Zoom: Beta 2 introduces a new XML-based file format for Deep Zoom image tiles, as well as a new MultiScaleTileSource that enables existing tile databases to utilize Deep Zoom. Better, event driven notification for zoom/pan state is another improvement in Silverlight 2 Beta 2.
EXPRESSION BLEND 2.5 JUNE 2008 PREVIEW
Is customer support offered with the Expression Blend 2.5 June 2008 Preview?
Support for pre-release products is offered on the Microsoft Discussion forum where you can solicit feedback and help get your questions answered by the Expression community. You can find the discussion forum here.
When will Expression Blend 2.5 be final?
We have not announced a release schedule for Expression Blend 2.5 however it is our intention to release it as soon as possible after Silverlight 2 is finally released.
When will Expression Studio 3 be released?
We have not announced a release schedule for Expression Studio 3.
Is Expression Blend 2.5 compatible with the tools in Expression Studio 2?
Yes.
Does Expression Blend support Silverlight 2?
Expression Blend will fully support Silverlight 2 in a future release. At TechEd we released an updated preview of Expression Blend 2.5 (Expression Blend 2.5 June 2008 Preview) to enable designers to start immediately exploring the power of Silverlight 2. We are currently evaluating how best to release this to market once Silverlight 2 is finally released, however we are committed to releasing preview versions to support the Silverlight 2 preview versions.
Customers who purchase Expression Studio 2 or Expression Blend 2 will receive the future version of Expression Blend that supports Silverlight 2 for free.
Are the features in Silverlight 2 Beta 2 exposed in Expression Blend 2.5 June Preview?
A large number of the features of the Silverlight 2 Beta 2 are available, specifically those which focus on the visual, design aspects of the platform.
Is Expression Blend 2.5 June 2008 Preview compatible with Visual Studio 2008 SP1?
Yes.
Where can I download Expression 2.5 2008 June Preview?
The preview can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/expression/try-it/
Why isn’t the full Expression Studio included in MSDN Subscriptions?
We recognize the tremendous interest in the Microsoft Expression product line within the existing MSDN subscriber community and have included Expression tooling in the premium MSDN subscription levels as a result.
· Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite with MSDN Premium includes Expression Studio.
· All other MSDN Premium levels include Expression Web and Expression Blend.
Developers with design responsibilities want access to Expression just as designers with development responsibilities want access to Visual Studio. We provide tooling for each group with the MSDN subscription levels above--for developers who do design--and the new Expression Professional Subscription--for designers who do development.
Which Expression products are included in each MSDN subscription level is a business decision reflecting our desire to continue meeting the needs of professional developers while delivering an "MSDN for Designers" option that appeals directly (and uniquely) to professional designers.
SILVERLIGHT TOOLS BETA 2 FOR VISUAL STUDIO 2008
What is the Silverlight Tools Beta 2 for Visual Studio 2008?
This package is an add-on to Visual Studio 2008 to provide tooling for Microsoft Silverlight 2 Beta 2. It provides a Silverlight project system for developing Silverlight applications using C# or Visual Basic. The project system includes:
· Visual Basic and C# Project templates
· Intellisense and code generators for XAML
· Debugging of Silverlight applications
· Web reference support
· Integration with Expression Blend 2.5 2008 June Preview
Do I need to download Silverlight Tools Beta 2 for Visual Studio 2008 to build Silverlight 2 applications?
Microsoft recommends downloading and using Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio to take advantage of features such as a visual design surface, intellisense, automatic build/packaging of XAP which makes it easier and more productive when building applications. It is a free add-on to VS. However, it is possible to build Silverlight applications using any text editor with the SDK.
Where can I download Silverlight Tools Beta 2 for Visual Studio 2008?
The easiest way to download the tools is to visit http://www.silverlight.net/
