Microsoft this week launched the March Community Technology Preview (CTP) of its Visual Studio "Orcas" release and also set up its Beginner Developer Learning Center. The CTP, accessible here, features a WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) designer, said S. "Soma" Somasegar, Microsoft corporate vice president of the company's Developer Division, in his blog. Also featured are enhancements pertaining to the Tea Microsoft this week launched the March Community Technology Preview (CTP) of its Visual Studio “Orcas” release and also set up its Beginner Developer Learning Center.The CTP, accessible here, features a WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) designer, said S. “Soma” Somasegar, Microsoft corporate vice president of the company’s Developer Division, in his blog. Also featured are enhancements pertaining to the Team Foundation Server for application lifecycle management. Orcas is the next-generation development tool for Windows Vista, the 2007 Office System, and the Web, Microsoft said. The March CTP consists of two releases, Visual Studio Team Suite and Visual Studio Team Foundation Server. These are available in a pre-configured Virtual PC image or as self-extracting installation files, Microsoft said. The Beginner Developer Learning Center is intended as a centralized learning environment for beginning programmers, Somasegar said. “This fun site provides a learning environment for anyone who is new to programming – the lessons start at a basic level with an introduction to general programming concepts, and gradually work their way up in difficulty to guide people through creation of complete Windows or Web solutions. It is a great way to learn to program, and a great way to increase your passion for coding by sharing this knowledge with others,” Somasegar said. Technology Industry