Training Kits and Screencasts

By now i think most people would be aware of the Visual Studio 2008  and .NET Framework 3.5 Training Kit. I just got my hands on it today and am going to install it soon. The docs seem to indicate that Vista is a prerequisite and i only have Windows 2003 Server so i’m not sure where that leaves me.

Anyway, what you might not be aware of is the tons of screencasts on Channel 9 for the same kit. There is also another .NET FX 3.0 Training Kit available here which is nearly a year old but i just found it.

A tip for the folks who are heading off now to Channel 9. Since they are screencasts there is no direct link to download the WMV but if you check the source of the page and look for “.wmv”, you will find a full link which you can use. I collected the whole lot and then put them into Download Accelerator and now the system is happily grabbing them for me. I prefer watching things offline and being in control than streamed videos where i’m at the mercy of the connection.

Of course, this is more or less useless to Biztalk people because we cant use Biztalk on VS2008, SQL 2008 or Windows 2008 (so much for the grand combined release!!) but it can be a decent diversion to get upto speed on the other areas that are taking off.

Enjoy.