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Orcas - Not just blowing air!

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I haven't blogged in a long time, partly because I've been very busy with other things, but mostly because I made the mistake of making this a debugging blog when I started it. Little did I know that one of the most prolific technical bloggers the world has ever known had already started a debugging blog. (If you question that label, check out Tess's blog.)  So I decided to rename my blog to The Striped Cat and open myself up to any topic I see fit to ramble on about. (After all, who reads this kind of dribble anyway?) This time around, I feel inclined to ramble on about Orcas because it's incredibly cool.

In case you don't know, Orcas is the code-name (y'all hear that. . . we're using code names) for the next version of Visual Studio. For ASP.NET developers, you'll still be using ASP.NET 2.0 with Orcas, but even so, ASP.NET developers will get to experience a great enhancement to Visual Studio because Orcas incorporates the designer from Expression Web, our latest Web design tool.

For years I've listened to ASP.NET developers gripe and moan about the lack of good CSS tools in Visual Studio. Not only that, but code preservation (although greatly improved over the years) isn't as good as it should be. These two major problems (and many others) are solved in a big way with Orcas.

I first started using Expression Web a little over a year ago when I started writing my book, Special Edition Using Microsoft Expression Web. After using it for a while, I really began to appreciate the power of the CSS tools available in it. All of those great CSS tools have made their way to Visual Studio with the release of Orcas. (For more information and screen shots, see Mikhail's blog.) Not only that, but you'll also see a great improvement in IntelliSense and code preservation.

I recently installed the latest bits to play around with Orcas. (Sorry, you won't be able to see these new enhancements until the February CTP ships next month.) When I first talked to Mikhail about these enhancements, I was in the process of writing a book on Visual Web Developer and Expression Web. Once I had a chance to play around with Orcas, I scrapped that book almost 300 pages into it and started a new book on Orcas. It really is that good and I can't wait to hear from ASP.NET developers using this product next month. You will love it.

You can download the January CTP of Orcas right now, but it's a seven-file download, 6 of which are 700MB in size. If you want the new designer, you'll have to wait for the February CTP version next month. (I know, February CTP in March. We're just trying to be contrary.) If you want a preview of the really cool CSS features you'll get, you can check out my video tutorial that shows you how to use these same features in Expression Web.  (View the Basic CSS tutorial.)

Until next time, remember not to smile.