Microsoft Downloads – August 2006
Quite a few interesting downloads in this month’s download notifications coming from the Redmond giant:
- Add Maps to Outlook
Download the free add-in for Windows Live Local to include maps and directions in your meeting invitations. - 2007 Office System Tool: Outlook HTML and CSS Validator
The Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 HTML and CSS Validator helps you check for valid/supported HTML before you send HTML-based e-mail. - ILMerge
ILMerge is a utility for merging multiple .NET assemblies into a single .NET assembly. It works on executables and DLLs alike and comes with several options for controlling the processing and format of the output. - Visual Studio .NET 2003 Service Pack 1
This download installs Visual Studio .NET SP1. Fixes in this Service Pack concern stability and security enhancements made in many areas of the product. - ADO.NET vNext CTP – August 2006
This package is the first Community Technology Preview (CTP) of ADO.NET vNext and includes the preview build of the ADO.NET Entity Framework along with samples and whitepapers.
The Outlook HTML and CSS Validator is another huge step forward we see Microsoft take towards standard-compliant solutions. Plus, the ability to add maps to your Outlook meeting directions is another move towards the integration of desktop and web solutions. We’ll see much more of that in Windows Vista, once it ships.
