14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is currently testing the distribution of a key component belonging to its next generation development platform and tools through Windows Update. In the coming weeks, early adopters will be able to grab the second Beta development milestone not only as a standalone download but also through Windows Update. The Redmond company will serve .NET 4 as an optional update through WU once the technology is wrapped up, after April 12th, 2010, and is currently testing to see whether the distribution of .NET Framework 3.5’s successor could present any problems.
“You can configure a machine to test this update process now by electing to receive a beta update. After electing to try the beta update, you'll be offered through Windows Update either the .Net 4 client profile if you have Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, or the .Net 4 full profile if you have the corresponding versions of Windows Server. This update will only appear if there are no beta versions of .Net 4 already installed on the machine,” revealed Nicholas Allen, a program manager at Microsoft working on Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, Silverlight, and other projects for the .NET Framework.
Microsoft made available .NET Framework Beta 2 at the end of October 2009, concomitantly with the release of Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2. In order to get .NET Framework Beta 2 through Windows Update, users will need to add a registry key to Windows. In order to do so, they will have to open a command prompt with elevated privileges and run the following command: reg.exe add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4B2WU" /v OptIn /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f.
“The beta update will then be available the next time you ask Windows Update to check for updates. This test process will only be available for the next three weeks, through February 8th,” Allen added. Come February 2010, Microsoft will offer testers the Release Candidate Build of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4, having already set the general availability deadline for the two on April 12.
.NET Framework 4 Beta 2 is available for download here.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional Beta 2 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate Beta 2 are available for download via this link.