Announces release to manufacturing of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Visual Studio 2008 SP1. These releases come just nine months after the release of the .NET Framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008, and include a substantial number of updates based directly on customer feedback. The service packs continue to address the needs of the developer community by making it even easier to develop applications for the latest platforms, with new features such as the .NET Framework Client Profile for faster deployment of Windows-based applications, multiple enhancements to ASP.NET, and unparalleled support for database application development through the ADO.NET Entity Framework, ADO.NET Data Services and integration with SQL Server 2008.

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'Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 had an extremely positive impact on our ability to develop a Web-based application that our customer, Misys Healthcare Systems, could use to manage patients' records -- in fact, it helped us boost development speed by 60 percent,' said Galen Murdock, president and CEO at Veracity Solutions Inc. 'The Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX improvements and new capabilities such as ADO.NET Entity Framework and ADO.NET Data Services meant we didn't have to worry about any of the underlying plumbing and could simply focus on building a highly responsive and interactive experience for users.'

New Breakthroughs for Developing and Deploying Client Applications

The .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 includes the new .NET Framework Client Profile -- the fastest and easiest way to deploy applications for Windows. With .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and the .NET Framework Client Profile, developers can more easily deploy client applications thanks to an 86.5 percent reduction (197 MB to 26.5 MB) in .NET Framework size. This means that end users will be able to download and install Windows-based applications significantly faster than before. The .NET Framework Client Profile also makes it possible to extend the improved download and installation experience to existing .NET applications.

Developers now can quickly and simply deploy new and existing rich-client applications to a broader audience.