Microsoft released a beta of .NET 3.5 SP1 and VS 2008 SP1 releases. While devoted in great part to bug fixes, they also include new features, some that have been eagerly awaited. Versions of ADO.NET Entity Framework and the ADO.NET Data Services framework (Astoria) are included.Microsoft’s Scott Guthrie and the VS Web Dev Tools team have wortwhile posts. And there is more at the .NET 3.5 SP1 and VS 2008 SP1 download center.

Also of note:

*The new .NET Framework Client Profile Setup Package which provides a setup installer that enables a simpler installation for .NET client applications on machines that do not already have the .NET Framework installed. According to Microsoft’s Guthrie, the .NET Framework Client Profile setup contains just those assemblies and files in the .NET Framework that are typically used for client application scenarios;

*WPF data binding and editing improvements that include: StringFormat support within {{ Binding }} expressions to enable easy formatting of bound values and better handling and conversion support for null values in editable controls;

*Better Intellisense support within VS 2008 for popular Javascript libraries such as JQuery, Prototype, Scriptaculous, and ExtJS; and

*Visual Web Developer Express now comes with the SQL Server 2008 Express Beta.