SQL Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 Released

SQL Server 2008 provides a comprehensive data platform that is secure, reliable, manageable, and scalable for your mission critical applications. With it, developers can create new applications that can store and consume any type of data on any device, enabling your users to make informed decisions with relevant insights.

SQL Server 2008 Product Brochure

SQL Server 2008 Overview

Download SQL Server 2008 RC 0

SQL Server 2008 RC0 will automatically expire after 180 days.

PLINQ - Features of PLINQ in June 08 CTP

The following major features are included in this release:

· Declarative data parallelism in the form of a LINQ implementation that parallelizes LINQ-to-Objects and LINQ-to-XML queries.

· Imperative data and task parallelism through the Task Parallel Library in the System.Threading and System.Threading.Tasks namespaces.

· A set of new coordination data structures in the System.Threading and System.Threading.Collections namespaces.

· A user-mode work-stealing scheduler that makes efficient use of parallel hardware architectures.

Parallel Computing to work with Parallel Hardware

Intro to Parallel Computing
Microsoft has come up with a concept called Parallel Computing which is based on Moore's law. This make life simpler for developers to write programs that perform and scale well on parallel hardware.

Parallel Extensions to .NET 3.5 June 08 CTP
Parallel Extensions simplifies development by providing library-based support for introducing concurrency into applications written with any .NET language, including C# and Visual Basic. It includes the Task Parallel Library (TPL), which provides imperative data and task parallelism; Parallel LINQ (PLINQ), which provides declarative data parallelism; and all new Coordination Data Structures (CDS), which provide support for work coordination and managing shared state.

SP1 released for .NET 3.5 and VS 2008

The Service Pack1 Beta is available for the .NET Framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008. The SP1 comes with new features.

Lets have look here for features and download:

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5
Service pack 1 Beta

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 Beta

Windows Server 2008 Vs Linux -Red Hat

Here is the complete list of features to choose your platform.

Compare Windows 2008 and Red Hat

Vista features for Developers

Besides having wonderful looks and features to attract hobbysists and PC users. Windows Vista have many new fearures to attract the developers too.

Lets find out here:
What's New in Windows Vista for Developers