Microsoft Releasing Visual Basic 11 and .NET 4.5 Betas February 29th
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 February 2012 05:19 Written by Alan Thursday, 23 February 2012 05:19
February 29th was already a much-anticipated date for those waiting for the big Microsoft unveiling of the Beta version of Windows 8, known as the “Consumer Preview”. While there has also been talk of the unveiling of Windows Phone “Tango”, we now know for sure that Microsoft will also release Beta versions of the next releases of Visual Basic and .NET Framework.
These may not have all of the appeal that a new Windows or Windows Phone release has for the average consumer, but both are important in their own right. These are mostly developer tools, although .NET is necessary to have on your PC for many of the everyday apps you probably use. The Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s developer division, Soma Somasegar, said many of the milestones of Visual Studio are synced with the milestone releases of Windows 8, so as the software progresses through beta stages, all of the products will mature simultaneously.
All three of the known releases, Windows 8, Visual Studio 11, and .NET 4.5, will take place in Barcelona, Spain at the Mobile World Conference, which kicks off next week. Microsoft is also expected, but not confirmed, to be unveiling Windows Phone “Tango” there as well.
Consumer Preview Build of Windows 8 Has Been Compiled
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 February 2012 03:05 Written by Alan Thursday, 23 February 2012 03:05
Reports are beginning to surface that the final build of the Consumer Preview version of Windows 8, which will be released on February 29th at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, has been compiled. One surprise is the build number, which turns out will be what we originally reported, 8250. A few days ago, when we learned that Microsoft was up to build 8284, we thought that number had been changed.
WinUnleaked.tk is reporting that, “After all their hard work, Microsoft finally compiled the public Windows 8 Consumer Preview build, 8250. The public release of the following build its scheduled for 29th February. We are also preparing for a full review, later, if we have the time.”
With a week to go until the official release of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview we fully expect to see screenshots leak out in advance of the MWC debut. This is turning into perhaps Microsoft’s most anticipated release since Windows 95, despite the fact that it’s only a Beta and there are no big-budget TV ads or Rolling Stones.
New Office 15 Screenshots Released
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 February 2012 12:09 Written by Alan Thursday, 23 February 2012 12:09
Office 15 is out now, but in a very limited and private Beta, and we have only seen a few leaked screenshots so far. Now however, Tom Warren over at The Verge has gotten an in-depth look at the next version of Office, known right as the “Technical Preview”. This next-generation version of Office has a distinctly different look than that of Office 2010.
Office 15 has a more Metro style, although that isn’t really surprising. It also minimizes the ribbon. Warren describes it as, “Office 15 takes a different approach to design, minimizing the ribbon by default and using a full screen “backstage” menu (similar to Office 2010) with navigation controls on the left”.
Office is a very mature software suite so it’s hard to really add much new to it, but Microsoft has introduced one major new feature called “Present Online” which allows users to share documents online. This is similar to a feature in PowerPoint 2010, but it has been pushed into other Office applications.
The next version of Office, which is only code named Office 15, will be available in a public Beta sometime this summer. It’s widely believed that Microsoft would like to release it in conjunction with Windows 8, which is expected in the Fall of this year. You can see all of the screenshots by visiting The Verge.
