Here is the feature set copied from Microsoft's website:

Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 includes:

• Improved designers for building WPF applications
• Full support for SQL Server 2008
• The introduction of the ADO.NET Entity Designer
• Visual Basic and Visual C++ components and tools (including an MFC-based Office 2007 style 'Ribbon')
• Improvements to Team Foundation Server to respond to customer feedback on version control usability and performance, improved e-mail integration with work item tracking and full support for hosting on SQL Server 2008
• Improvements for Web development including richer JavaScript support, enhanced AJAX and data tools, and Web site deployment

The .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 includes:

• Performance increases between 20-45% for WPF-based applications - without having to change any code
• WCF improvements that give developers more control over the way they access data and services
• Streamlined installation experience for client applications
• Improvements in the area of data platform, such as the ADO.NET Entity Framework, ADO.NET Data Services and support for SQL Server 2008's new features.

Additional Details

In addition, Service Pack 1 for the .NET Framework and Visual Studio 2008 includes a number of new features:

• Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Visual Designer Changes
• .NET Framework 3.5 Client Profile
• New ADO.NET Data Features
• Team Foundation Server Improvements

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Visual Designer Changes

• Cold startup performance improvement ranging between 20-45% depending on application size without needing to modify any code.
• Additional WPF features for text, graphics, and media to deliver better performance. For example, effects like DropShadow and Blur were implemented using software rendering; with Service Pack 1 these are now implemented using hardware acceleration. Other examples include:
  • Text, especially when used in Visual and DrawingBrush, is substantially faster.
  • Data scalability improvements - Container Recycling, TreeView virtualization, and more to enable richer data editing support
  • Media performance improvements
  • A much improved WriteableBitmap that enables real-time bitmap updates from a software surface
• Visual Studio 2008 introduced a brand new designer for WPF applications. Since Visual Studio 2008 released many additional features have become available for inclusion in the designers. These include event tab support within the property grid for control events, toolbox support within source mode, and a variety of other common asks and improvements.

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Workflow Foundation (WF) Changes

• New Hosting Wizard for WCF Service projects.
• Enhancements in Test Client such as support for RM Sessions, Message Contract and Nullable<T> types enables testing of broader set of WCF-based services.
• Expanding reach of DataContract Serializer by relaxing the need of having [DataContract]/ [DataMember] on types and by supporting an interoperable mechanism for dealing with object references.
• Improved Partial Trust Debugging Experience with support for Event Log.
• Support for ADO.NET Entity Framework entities in WCF contracts.
• Improvements in writing REST based services ranging from easily supporting ServiceDocuments publication and consumption to providing greater control and usability of UriTemplate.
• Significant performance improvements on large workflow-based projects in Visual Studio.
• Considerable scalability increases for hosted WCF services in IIS7-integrated mode.

The full list of free software:

• Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
• Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
• XNA Game Studio 2.0
• 12-month free membership in the XNA Creators Club
• Expression Studio, which includes Expression Web, Expression Blend, Expression Design and Expression Media
• SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
• Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
• SQL Server Developer Edition
• Virtual PC 2007
• Visual Basic 2005
• Visual C++ 2005
• Visual C# 2005
• Visual J# 2005
• Visual Web Developer 2005

Full information can be found at https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/

Here is the news:

Microsoft Postpones SQL Server 2008 Release

Microsoft postponed the final release of SQL Server 2008 until the third quarter of 2008. The company had planned to release the product during the second quarter but announced on a blog dedicated to SQL Server that it will now ship a release candidate for the new version in the second quarter with the final release to manufacturing version expected in the third quarter. The company also said that the new date still keeps the company on track to ship the database software within the original goal of 24 to 36 months after SQL Server 2005.

Microsoft said downloads of SQL Server Community Technology Preview (CTP) have reached more than a 100,000 copies. The CTP works like a test or beta version of the product.

On the blog, Microsoft emphasized that SQL Server 2008 is a major release for the company because it not only improves on the capabilities of the 2005 product, but it also provides the foundation for Microsoft's business intelligence software.

The 2008 version also includes features like Resource Governor, Backup Compression, Transparent Data Encryption, Enhanced Report Designer, FileStream Data Types (to manage unstructured documents), Spatial Data Support, and Compatibility with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

According to Microsoft, SQL Server is now running data warehouses larger than 20 TB in size.

Here are some things to know about SP1 from Microsoft TechNet:

• If you have a prior version of the SP1 beta installed, you must uninstall it prior to installing the final version. Use the Control Panel applet "Programs and Features" and select "View installed updates" from the top left of the task pane. Under Windows, look for "Service Pack for Windows (KB936330).
• Some TechNet Plus subscribers may encounter an issue with a small set of hardware devices that may not function properly after updating a Windows Vista PC to SP1.   This is an issue with the way the device drivers were re-installed during the SP1 update process, not with the drivers themselves—these drivers worked on Windows Vista RTM and they work on Windows Vista SP1.  This problem is typically corrected by simply uninstalling and reinstalling the driver.
• We are working with the manufacturers of these devices to get the drivers and their install programs updated, and also on other solutions we can use to ensure a smooth customer experience when updating to SP1 over Windows Update. For new PCs provisioned with Windows Vista SP1, this is not an issue.

Thursday, March 13, 2008 9:00 AM - Thursday, March 13, 2008 3:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Welcome Time: 8:30 AM

Microsoft Office - Tampa, FL

3000 Bayport Dr
Suite 480 Tampa Florida 33607-8402
United States

 

Event Overview

Visual Studio Team System 2008 Briefing

Come join your technology peers to learn about current and future .NET technologies. The focus of this 1 day seminar will be around Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Team System. You will be provided with an overview of each role and the session will wrap up with a preview of the next version of Team System (codenamed “Rosario”)

AGENDA:

• 9:00pm Intro Visual Studio Team System/TFS Business Value
• 9:30am VSTS Project Management and Collaboration Features
• 10:15am Break
• 10:30am VSTS Tester Features
• 11:15am Version Control and Build Management
• 12:00pm Lunch (Provided)
• 12:30pm VSTS Architect/Developer Professional Features
• 2:30pm Team System Futures (Rosario+)
• 3:00pm Closing /Q & A
• This session will be delivered by Microsoft’s valued partner:  NOTION SOLUTIONS

The following demonstrates an Object Initalizers' use:

             1:  FooClass BandMember
= new FooClass { FirstName = "John" ,
LastName = "Plant", Instrument = "Computer" };

Notice the syntax is very similar to an array's syntax and as long as the variable is strongly typed, you can initialize the properties in any order.  You can also initalize any collection that implements ICollection<T> in the same manner. 

             1: 
            using System;

             2: 
            using System.Collections.Generic;

             3:  

             4: 
            namespace ObjectInitializer

             5: {

             6: 
            class FooClass

             7:  {

             8: 
            public
            string LastName
{ get; set; }

             9: 
            public
            string FirstName
{ get; set; }

             10: 
            public
            string Instrument
{ get; set; }

             11:  }

             12:  

             13: 
            class Program

             14:  {

             15: 
            static
            void Main(string[]
args)

             16:  {

             17:  FooClass BandMember = new FooClass
{ FirstName = "John" , 

             18:  LastName = "Plant", 

             19:  Instrument = "Computer" };

             20: 
          

             21:  List<FooClass> FooFighters
= new List<FooClass>

             22:  {

             23: 
            new FooClass
{ FirstName = "Dave", LastName = "Grohl",
Instrument = "Vocals" },

             24: 
            new FooClass { FirstName
= "Nate", LastName = "Mendel", Instrument
= "Bass" },

             25: 
            new FooClass
{ FirstName = "Taylor", LastName = "Hawkins" ,
Instrument= "Drums" },

             26: 
            new FooClass { LastName
= "Shiflett", FirstName = "Chris",
Instrument = "Guitar" },

             27:  BandMember

             28:  };

             29:  

             30: 
            foreach (FooClass p in FooFighters
)

             31:  {

             32:  Console.WriteLine("{0},{1}
on {2}", p.LastName, p.FirstName, p.Instrument); 

             33:  }

             34:  

             35:  Console.ReadLine();

             36:  }

             37:  }

             38: }

This new feature may not be a world changer, but combined with automatic properties can be a time saver and will help you produce cleaner code.

The first bit of code we are going to need is a class to hold our feed data. We will be using a List<dnrFeedList> to query against.  Here the code for the class. Nothing strange here, just a datetime field and four strings.

             1: 
            public
            class dnrFeedList

             2:  {

             3: 
            public
            string Title
{ get; set; }

             4: 
            public DateTime Published
{ get; set; }

             5: 
            public
            string Enclosure
{ get; set; }

             6: 
            public
            string Description
{ get; set; }

             7: 
            public
            string GUID
{ get; set; }

             8:  }

Let's make a few changes to our service. First we need to change our services' timer elapsed event. We want to download the feed list and loop through each show we have not already downloaded. After each download we want to update our XML file in case the program is shutdown. After all shows are downloaded for that day, we will update the last checked date.

             1: 
            void PollTimer_Elapsed(object sender,
ElapsedEventArgs e)

             2:  {

             3: 
            if (Feed.LastCheckDate
< DateTime.Now)

             4:  {

             5: 
            foreach (dnrFeedList
f in Feed.GetList())

             6:  {

             7:  Feed.DownloadFile(f);

             8:  Feed.SaveXML();

             9:  }

             10: 
            // Add a day to our last check
date. 
          

             11:  Feed.LastCheckDate = Feed.LastCheckDate.AddDays(1);

             12:  Feed.SaveXML();

             13:  }

             14:  }

Now we want to pull down the feed from DNRTV. The following LINQ to XML code has been posted online several times over on blogs such as Scott Guthrie. The only addition I made was to the where clause to filter out the videos that have already been downloaded. We will it in a generic called Episode List. This list is a List<String> that contains the shows GUID.  After each successful downloaded, we add that shows GUID to this list.

Also needed was a DateTimeZone class to parse in and correct the time zone issue ( ex. "-0500" instead of "EST" ).  I won't post that code here, but it will be included in the final download.

             1: 
            public List<dnrFeedList>
GetList()

             2:  {

             3:  

             4:  XDocument x = XDocument.Load(URL);

             5:  var feeds = from feed in x.Descendants("item")

             6:  orderby DateTimeZone.ParseDateTime(feed.Element("pubDate").Value.ToString())
descending

             7: 
            where EpisodeList.Contains(feed.Element("guid").Value)
== false

             8:  select new dnrFeedList

             9:  {

             10:  Title = feed.Element("title").Value.ToString(),

             11:  Published = DateTimeZone.ParseDateTime(feed.Element("pubDate").Value.ToString()),

             12:  Enclosure = feed.Element("enclosure").Attribute("url").Value.ToString(),

             13:  Description = feed.Element("description").Value.ToString(),

             14:  GUID = feed.Element("guid").Value

             15:  };

             16:  

             17: 
            return feeds.ToList();

             18:  }

Now that we have our feed list, we loop through each show and do our download using a generic TEMP.ZIP filename for each download. Afterward, we unzip the video into the video directory, add the GUID to our Episode List  and delete the TEMP.ZIP.

             1: 
            public
            void DownloadFile(dnrFeedList
uri)

             2:  {

             3: 
            // Download ZIP
file with TEMP.ZIP as the filename. 
          

             4: 
            // It will be deleted after
it is unzipped. 
          

             5: 
            string filename
= this.VideoDirectory + @"TEMP.ZIP";

             6: 
          

             7:  WebClient web = new WebClient();

             8:  web.DownloadFile(uri.Enclosure.ToString(), filename);

             9:  

             10: 
            const
            int bufferSize
= 4096;

             11: 
            byte[]
buffer = newbyte[bufferSize];

             12: 
            int count = 0;

             13:  

             14: 
            // Here we are using the SharpZipLib
from ic#code.
          

             15:  ZipInputStream s = new ZipInputStream(File.OpenRead(filename));

             16:  ZipEntry f;

             17:  

             18: 
            while ((f = s.GetNextEntry())
!= null)

             19:  {

             20: 
            string out_filename
= this.VideoDirectory + string.Format("{0}",
f.Name);

             21: 
            if (!File.Exists(out_filename))

             22:  {

             23:  FileStream sw = new FileStream(out_filename,
FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None);

             24:  

             25: 
            while (true)

             26:  {

             27:  count = s.Read(buffer, 0, bufferSize);

             28: 
            if (count > 0)

             29:  {

             30:  sw.Write(buffer, 0, bufferSize);

             31:  }

             32: 
            else
            break;

             33:  }

             34:  sw.Close();

             35:  }

             36:  }

             37:  

             38: 
            // We need to the GUID for
this show to our already downloaded
          

             39: 
            // episode list.
Delete the Temp.zip afterward.
          

             40:  EpisodeList.Add(uri.GUID.ToString());

             41:  File.Delete(filename);

             42:  }

The final parts of the code I want to go over are the loading and saving of the configuration XML file. This file contains the last date checked and a list of already downloaded shows. It amazes me that this file can be created in two statements. It is longer than two lines, but it is still just two statements, a constructor and a save method. Notice the LINQ to Generic query for the show list section. Pretty cool.

             1: 
            public
            void SaveXML()

             2:  {

             3:  

             4:  XDocument doc = new XDocument(

             5: 
            new XDeclaration("1.0", "utf-8", "yes"),

             6: 
            new XComment("dnrTv
Aggregator Configuration"),

             7: 
            new XElement("Aggregator",

             8: 
            new XElement("Configuration", new XElement("LastCheckDate",
DateTime.Now.ToShortDateString())),

             9: 
            new XElement("ShowList",
from s in EpisodeList

             10:  select new XElement("Show", new XElement("GUID",
s.ToString()))

             11:  )));

             12:  

             13:  doc.Save(path);

             14:  }

Loading the file back in is just about as simple. In fact, there is likely a cooler way of doing this that I just have not discovered yet. Drop me a comment if you have one. Now we use LINQ to XML to pull the data and load it into our previous downloaded show list.

             1: 
            private
            void LoadXML()

             2:  {

             3: 
            if (File.Exists(path))

             4:  {

             5:  XElement doc = XElement.Load(path);

             6:  

             7:  LastCheckDate = DateTime.Parse(doc.Element("Configuration").Element("LastCheckDate").Value);

             8:  var SavedList = from d in doc.Element("ShowList").Elements("Show")

             9:  select (string)d.Element("GUID");

             10:  

             11: 
            foreach (string s in SavedList)

             12:  {

             13:  EpisodeList.Add(s);

             14:  }

             15:  

             16:  }

             17:  }

I have this code up and running on my Homer Server. It is checking daily for new shows and then downloads them to a shared video directory. My next step will be to rewrite my client application to use WCF has it communication protocol and to fancy up it's features. At that point I will be posting the full code for download.

Code Updated 2-10-2008

The basic concept here is drawing the text multiple times in slightly different locations in one color with the alpha channel set to around 15 to 25. Next you print the original text centered back over the glowing text. The results look excellent. When I get the time I will create a label style control based on this code and post it. 

             1: 
            using System;

             2: 
            using System.Collections.Generic;

             3: 
            using System.ComponentModel;

             4: 
            using System.Data;

             5: 
            using System.Drawing;

             6: 
            using System.Text;

             7: 
            using System.Windows.Forms;

             8: 
            using System.Drawing.Drawing2D;

             9: 
            using System.Drawing.Text;

             10:  

             11: 
            namespace OutGlowText

             12: {

             13: 
            public
            partial
            class MainForm
: Form

             14:  {

             15: 
            string OutStr
= "Glowing Text";

             16: 
            int BlurAmt = 9;

             17:  

             18: 
            public MainForm()

             19:  {

             20:  InitializeComponent();

             21:  }

             22:  

             23: 
            private
            void MainForm_Load(object sender,
EventArgs e)

             24:  {

             25: 
            this.BackColor
= Color.Black;

             26:  }

             27:  

             28: 
            protected
            override
            void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs
e)

             29:  {

             30:  Graphics g = e.Graphics;

             31:  Brush br = new SolidBrush(Color.FromArgb(15,
Color.White));

             32:  

             33:  g.SmoothingMode = SmoothingMode.HighQuality;

             34:  g.InterpolationMode = InterpolationMode.HighQualityBilinear;

             35:  g.TextRenderingHint = TextRenderingHint.AntiAliasGridFit;

             36:  

             37: 
            for (int x
= 0; x <= BlurAmt; x++)

             38:  {

             39: 
            for (int y
= 0; y <= BlurAmt; y++)

             40:  {

             41:  g.DrawString(OutStr, new Font("Arial",
48,FontStyle.Bold),br, new Point(x, y));

             42:  }

             43:  }

             44: 
          

             45:  g.DrawString(OutStr, 

             46: 
            new Font("Arial",
48,FontStyle.Bold ), 

             47:  Brushes.Blue, 

             48: 
            new Point(BlurAmt /2,
BlurAmt/2));

             49:  

             50: 
            base.OnPaint(e);

             51:  }

             52:  

             53:  }

             54: }