19 Jan 2010

VS 2010 and TFS 2010 VM Factory Guidance

Guidance, TFS, Visual Studio 2010
But wait, there’s more!…  Along with various other bits of guidance being published recently by the Rangers, there is also the Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010 Virtualization Guidance. “Visual Studio 2010 VM Factory is the reference implementation of a software solution that automates the creation of Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010 virtualized environments. The purpose of this project is to build prescriptive guidance around virtualization of the Visual Studio 2010 and guidance for full automation of the creation of virtual machines using the VM Factory. The goal is to help users with the installation…
Read More
18 Jan 2010

Visual Studio 2010 Quick Reference Guidance Released

Guidance, TFS, Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010
If you’re looking for some quick information regarding the myriad features in Visual Studio 2010, then look no further than the recently published Visual Studio 2010 Quick Reference Guidance.  This is yet another example of a great guidance project released by the Rangers in the past few weeks. “The Visual Studio 2010 Quick Reference Guidance consists of compact cheat sheets for Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2010 and Visual Studio (VS) 2010, addressing the core problem of teams in the field who are unaware of Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server capabilities or have little time to invest in detailed education.”…
Read More
18 Jan 2010

Visual Studio 2010 Launch Date Set (Again)

Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010
As pointed out last month, Microsoft pushed back the launch for Visual Studio 2010 (originally set for March 22nd, 2010).  At that time, they stated only that it would be pushed back a few weeks (citing performance reasons). Now, several weeks later, they have reset the Visual Studio 2010 launch date for April 12th, 2010 as pointed out by Rob Caron in a “short but sweet blog post. Although it’s only being pushed back three weeks, it does give us the benefit of getting another interim release (a release candidate to be available in February) prior to the RTM release. …
Read More
18 Jan 2010

TFS 2010 Requirements Management Guidance Ships!

Guidance, TFS, Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010
As we near RTM for Visual Studio 2010, we are going to start seeing more and more information being release providing guidance on the installation, configuration, and usage of Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010.  One of the latest guidance project to be release by the Rangers is the Visual Studio 2010 Team Foundation Server Requirements Management Guidance. “This Ranger solution addresses the People, Process, and Technology guidance for Requirements Engineering (RE) using Team Foundation Server. The goal of this guidance is to provide formalized Microsoft field experience in the form of recommended procedures and processes, Visual Studio…
Read More
05 Jan 2010

Team Foundation Sidekicks for TFS 2010

Add-ins & Extensions, TFS, Utilities, Visual Studio 2010
Attrice has released version 3.0 of their (most useful) Team Foundation Server Sidekicks for Team Foundation Server 2010 Beta 2.  This set of utilities has been sorely missed since TFS 2010 was first made available for testing.  This release has pretty much the same functionality as version 2.4 (for TFS 2005/2008) with the following exceptions: Permissions Sidekick: this sidekick is not available in this release (to be added back in 2010 RTM timeframe) Build Type editing (VS integration only): this feature is not available in this release Dynamic History support (VS integration only): the History toolwindow is updated only when…
Read More
24 Dec 2009

VS 2008 & 2010 – Virtual Machine Images

Team System, TFS, Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010
If you’re looking for a set of virtual machines for testing Visual Studio 2008 or 2010 and/or Team Foundation Server 2008 or 2010, then you’re in luck!  Brian Randell has just posted about a new set of virtual machine images ready for downloading. For the 2008 images, the new expiration date is January 31st, 2011.  The 2010 images expire much earlier due to the nature of the beta products – April 9th, 2010.  However, by that time, it’s hoped that the final release of the 2010 products will be out, or if not (because of the delayed launch), then at…
Read More
21 Dec 2009

Final TFS 2010 Beta 2 Patch Available

Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010
As of today, the final TFS 2010 Beta 2 patch is being made available.  The list of fixes include: If, in the connect dialog, the URL with “/tfs” fails to connect, fails back to base URL (minus “/tfs”). Removed an extraneous error that occurred when connecting to a CodePlex with the 2010 Team Explorer. Fixed an error that affected connecting to TFS using HTTPS over the Internet from behind an ISA proxy that requires authentication. (This affected people connecting to CodePlex over the Internet.) Improved performance when using Crtl-A to select multiple Labels. You can download the patch from here…
Read More
18 Dec 2009

Visual Studio 2010 Launch Pushed Back

Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010
A couple of months ago it was announced that Visual Studio 2010 would launch on March 22, 2010.  Today, Microsoft announced that, due to extensive feedback (e.g. regarding performance issues, etc.), the official launch will be pushed back a few weeks. Because of the extended beta period, Microsoft will be providing a Release Candidate, currently scheduled for February, 2010, with a broad “Go Live” license. I believe this is a great move on Microsoft’s part as it will give them a little more time to “get it right” and will also provide the public with another “Go Live” version for…
Read More
04 Dec 2009

TFS 2010 Beta 2 Power Tools Released

TFS, Utilities, Visual Studio 2010
For anyone that’s been using Team Foundation Server for any amount of time, odds are you’ve also been making use of the Team Foundation Server Power Tools (if not, then they’re well worth a look).  If you have been taking advantage of Team Foundation Server 2010 Beta 2’s “Go Live” license then you’ve had to make due without the enhanced functionality provided by the TFS Power Tools.  That is, until now. The Team Foundation Server 2010 Beta 2 Power Tools have been released and are now available for download.  Here are the links: Team Foundation Power Tools TFS MSSCCI Provider…
Read More
13 Nov 2009

Presentation Slides

Conferences
Today concludes my run of talks (at least for the next few weeks :-) that I’ve been giving over the past few weeks so I thought I’d post the PowerPoint decks in case anyone might find some use from them.  With that said… An Introduction to Silverlight 3 – presented at the Farm Credit Services of America internal User Group. VSTS – What’s in it for me? – presented at the Omaha Team System User Group,  Dubuque, IA .NET User Group, and Tulsa TechFest. Team Foundation Build 2008 – Automating the Build Process – presented at Tulsa TechFest. Using Team…
Read More