As one would expect, each new release of Microsoft Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server brings a range of exciting new features and capabilities. Unfortunately many of us may still remember the pain of moving from VS2002 (.NET 1.0) to VS 2003 (.NET 1.1) and then to VS2005 (.NET 2.0). This has caused us to be especially weary of changing to newer versions before we really need to.

With the release of Microsoft Visual Studio “11” Beta, Microsoft have made big investments in ensuring the smoothest possible transition to the next release. Here are a number of ways Microsoft are making it much easier for you to be an early adopter of the Visual Studio “11” Beta range of products.

• Mix and match – Many (not all) project types do not require any form of “upgrade” to be used in Visual Studio “11”. This means you can easily have some team members using Visual Studio 2010 with SP1 while others try out the new Visual Studio “11” on the SAME project! Find out more on the MSDN website.
  • Visual Studio “11” Beta and Visual Studio 2010 can be installed side-by-side on the same machine.
    • While .NET Framework 4.5 has some nice features, Visual Studio “11” can target any existing version of the .NET framework from v2.0 or later. You’re not forced to upgrade and use .NET Framework 4.5.
      • Visual Studio “11” can work with your existing Team Foundation Server 2010. You do not need to upgrade the TFS server.
        • You can choose to upgrade your TFS 2010 server to TFS “11” Beta without needing to upgrade your clients. Simply download and install the Visual Studio 2010 SP1 Team Foundation Server 11 Compatibility GDR on your VS 2010 clients so they can talk to the TFS “11” Beta.
          • Microsoft provides Go Live and support for production use for the Beta release.
            • Microsoft support upgrades from the Beta to the Release Candidate (RC) and then to the Release (RTM) version.

              • All data in Visual Studio 11 Team Foundation Server Beta (work items, source files, tests and test results, builds, and warehouse data) will be carried forward when following supported upgrade paths.</ul> What are you waiting for? There are many great new features and capabilities you’ll just love in Visual Studio “11”. Here are some action items to help you get started.

              • Download the Visual Studio “11” software

                • Download a fully pre-configured Hyper-V machine and try it out
                  • Take a look at the new ALM-Training courses for early adopters </ul>