Microsoft revamps developer partner program and VS.NET
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Microsoft is encouraging small software developers to build extensions such as compilers for its Visual Studio .Net development tool by offering free access to the Visual Studio Industry Partner software development kit, the company said.
The Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) program has been expanded from a single-tier program, in which partners paid Microsoft $10,000 a year, to a three-tiered program with no-charge membership at the lowest level, said Marie Huwe, a general manager in Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism division.
The next version of Visual Studio .Net, code-named Whidbey, is due out at the same time Microsoft releases the next version of its SQL Server database, code-named Yukon, in the second half of next year, Huwe said. Another upgrade to Visual Studio .Net, code-named Orcas, is planned for when Microsoft ships Longhorn, the code name for the next version of Windows, she said.