Not a moment too soon, Microsoft has released version 3.0 of its .net software development platform, which developers will need to make use of new features in the Windows Vista operating system, such as the Windows Presentation, Workflow and Communication foundations. But like the foundations, previously codenamed Avalon and Indigo, .net Framework 3.0 has had a previous incarnation: WinFX (Windows Framework Extension).

When WinFX was announced, analyst firm Gartner said, “These technologies represent the largest change in Microsoft’s programmer interfaces since the introduction of Win32 with Windows 95 and NT 3.1 nearly 10 years ago.” It added, “Developers will need to migrate their skills to the .net Framework.”

Version 3.0 of .net will ship with Vista by default. After initially proposing to exclude XP and Windows 2003, Microsoft is now making the new technology available by download for users of these older operating systems.

Download: .NET 3.0 Redistributable for - x86 (50.3Mb) | x64 (90.1Mb)
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