Visual Studio 2005 Delayed Again

by Alex Woodie

Microsoft this week unveiled pricing and product packaging for Visual Studio 2005, the long-awaited new development environment for building the next generation of Windows applications. In addition to pricing, Microsoft also revealed that developers will be waiting a little longer for Visual Studio 2005, which is now due, along with SQL Server 2005, sometime during the second half of the year.

It was only last month that Microsoft unveiled product pricing and configuration information for SQL Server 2005, codenamed "Yukon," which everybody expected to ship during the summer, just a few months from now. (see "New SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition to Target SMBs"). Now that ship date's not looking so sure.

With a similar pricing and packaging announcement for Visual Studio 2005 this week, Microsoft let it be known that the new integrated development environment won't be available until the second half of the year. Microsoft has also said that the Visual Studio 2005 product, which is codenamed "Whidbey," and SQL Server 2005, which have been developed together to support the same features, will ship simultaneously during the second half of the year.

Delays, of course, are to be expected in the software business, and Microsoft has had more than its share of them. "Whidbey" and "Yukon" were first slated by Microsoft for delivery in 2003. Obviously that never happened, and the timing of this week's announcement is eerily similar to last March's delay of the same products (see "Microsoft Delays Future Versions of SQL Server, Visual Studio"). Microsoft is not being specific about a third-quarter or fourth-quarter release, but the smart money is on a planned big splash with a fourth-quarter roll-out. If there's another slip, however, Microsoft may want to think about giving the products a 2006 moniker.

Building IDEs and databases is not easy work, and Microsoft promises that Yukon and Whidbey, which introduces the new "Team System" concept, will be worth the wait. "With Visual Studio 2005 Team System, Microsoft introduces features and technologies to support application development through all phases of the software life cycle, from development to deployment," said S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of Microsoft's developer division.

The Visual Studio Team System expands the reach of the development tools beyond programmers to also include role-based tools for project managers, software testers, infrastructure and software architects, and IT business decision-makers, Microsoft says. Microsoft will be selling versions of Visual Studio geared for software architects, software developers, and software testers. The Visual Studio Team Suite will contains all three of these role-based products, while a separately licensed product, Visual Studio Team Foundation Server, will enhance team collaboration, Microsoft says. Volume pricing starts at $3,191 per seat for the Team System products through the Software Assurance program.

Microsoft is also selling various levels of subscriptions for the standard Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition product through its Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) program. A Premium subscription for Professional Edition costs $2,499 ($1,999 to renew) while a Professional subscription to the Professional Edition (confused yet?) costs only $1,199 (or $700 to renew). Microsoft is offering no-cost upgrades to the Visual Studio 2005 products for MSDN Universal Subscribers, the company says.

Microsoft is also rolling out new low-end development tools for use by students, hobbyists, and small and medium sized businesses. The so-called "Express Editions" of Visual Studio 2005 will be available in five versions, including Visual Web Developer, Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual C++, and Visual J# editions, and will cost only $49.

For more Visual Studio 2005 product and pricing information, go to msdn.microsoft.com.