Second round of Q1 2009 service packs now available

While I'm busy preparing for tomorrow's skinning webinar (it's going to be fun- don't miss it), the product teams are busy delivering the last wave of fresh bits to you before the big Q2 2009 release arrives. Earlier today, Telerik shipped the Q2 2009 Service Pack 2s for the RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX and the RadControls for XAML (Silverlight/WPF). Each of these SPs rolls-up a lot of hotfixes (as you would expect), but they also go a step further and deliver some pretty compelling "enhancements:" RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX (2009.1.527)

• Official support for Chrome v2
• Early support for VS 2010 Beta 1
• New Skin! Simple (CSS "mostly")
• Improved Visual Studio Extensions
• New support for rendering RadControls in MVC/client-side scenarios

RadControls for XAML (Silverlight/WPF) (2009.1.526)

• Localization support added for many controls
• Many new properties and events added to RadGridView
• Bug fixes accross the suite

You can download the new bits now in your Client.net accounts on Telerik.com and enjoy the improvements right away. Stay tuned for more details about some of the features in SP2 (and some yet to be seen features coming in Q2) in the coming days. 'Til then, enjoy SP2!

More Q1 2009 SP1s available, Reporting due soon

A couple of weeks ago, I brought to your attention the first round of service packs Telerik released for Q1 2009 controls. This week, let me bring your attention to (most) of the remaining service packs. Now, in addition the SP1s for ASP.NET, OpenAccess ORM, and WebUI Test Studio, we have SP1s for the RadControls for Silverlight, WPF, and WinForms. The new versions (for quick reference) are:

• SP1 for RadControls for WinForms (2009.1.414)
• SP1 for RadControls for Silverlight (2009.1.413)
• SP1 for RadControls for WPF (2009.1.413)

The only "missing" SP1 is for Telerik Reporting. The product team is finishing-up some work on fixing bugs in the new cross tab support, and as soon as that work is done, SP1 will be released. Meanwhile, there is a lot to be excited about in these new releases. In WinForms land, there are lots performance improvements and tweaks across the controls. The GridView, in particular, has optimized performance for conditional formatting, and the Calendar now supports drag-to-select operations. For the XAML controls, there is a ton happening in SP1. For the XAML GridView and Charts (remember, SL and WPF share a code base at Telerik), there are many, many new features, including everything from ExcelML export in the GridView to two new 2D chart types in Charts (StackedLine and StackedSpline). Silverlight also adds support to RadDock in SP1 for saving and loading state, so you can now easily persist user Dock settings. For complete details, be sure to check the Release Notes links above. Enjoy the SPs and stay tuned for updates on the Q2 2009 Road Map (coming very soon)!

Q1 2009 Service Packs starting to ship (update)

Looking for some updates for your Q1 2009 RadControls and Telerik tools? Then you may want to start grabbing some of the Q1 2009 first-round Service Packs. So far, there are two SP1s available for the Q1 2009 release:

• SP1 for the RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX (2009.1.402)
• Sp1 for Telerik OpenAccess ORM (2009.1.405)
• [UPDATE] SP1 for Telerik WebUI Test Studio (2009.1.402)

For the ASP.NET AJAX controls, SP1 marks Telerik's official support for Microsoft's latest and greatest version of IE. If you need to officially support IE8 for your customers, make sure you install Q1 2009 SP1. In fact, if you want the most recent build with even more fixes, check-out the Latest Internal Build (2009.1.408) for the ASP.NET controls. You won't get an installer with the Latest Build, but you will get the most up-to-date set of hotfixes for your code. For ORM, SP1 is also loaded with fixes and improvements. Most notably, SP1 continues to deliver enhancements to OpenAccess' support for LINQ. You can now use String.Compare and Collection.Contains() in your LINQ queries and the proper OpenAccess SQL will be parsed. There is, of course, much more, so I encourage you to review the release notes (linked above) and see if SP1 addresses issues you've been having with OpenAccess. For the other Telerik products, SP1s are coming soon. The Silverlight and WPF SP1 releases are just around the corner and should be available on Telerik.com by early next week. The WinForms SP1 is about a week away and the Telerik Reporting SP1 is about two weeks away. I'll post another update once all of those SPs are out the door. Until then, grab the service packs from your downloads page and continue to enjoy Q1!

UPDATE: Forgot to mention the Sp1 for the Telerik WebUI Test Studio! Thanks Konstantin! Find the link the the release notes above.

Telerik Q1 2009 (fully) released!

It's been a fun and exciting release week, and now all of the Q1 2009 release bits are available for immediate download on Telerik.com. That's 7 releases (8, if you count the new Telerik Visual Studio Extensions) all shipped to you this week, right on schedule! And did you see the news on the Telerik blogs? The "Downloads" section in your Client.net accounts has been revamped just in time for Q1 so that you no longer have to click through multiple screens and tabs just to download new bits. Go directly to your accounts and start downloading! All of the live, online demos have been updated, too! So for those of you just interested in "kicking the tires" before spending time downloading and installing, the demos are ready. Here are some quick links to get you started: RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX online demos RadControls for Silverlight online demos RadControls for WPF "online" demos (XBAP) RadControls for WinForms free trial Telerik Reporting online "demos" (rendered reports) Telerik OpenAccess ORM online demos Sitefinity CMS Demo Site (with demo Admin access) There is no online demo for the new Telerik WebUI Test Studio, so instead I'll encourage to watch the videos covering this new product on Telerik TV. Enjoy the release bits and don't miss the last Release Week webinar on Friday!

Q1 Update, Bits available Thursday

A quick update for all of you eagerly waiting to get your hands on the Q1 2009 bits (and really, who isn't?!). The bits for all of the product lines are now ready and in the process of being uploaded to the Telerik distribution servers and they should be ready for download tomorrow, Thursday. As many of you know, our release process is multi-step:

1. Final bits/installers/docs for release built
2. Release builds (trail/dev) uploaded to Telerik distribution servers
3. All Telerik subscription accounts updated to access new bits

Steps one and two are done, and only step three remains. That process should begin soon and the new bits should be available in your Client.net accounts on Thursday. In the mean time, if you want a "sneak peek" at what's coming the official Q1 builds, some of the release notes are already available on Telerik.com. Study them now (and attend the release week webinars) and you'll be ready to hit the ground running tomorrow! Q1 2009 Release Notes for ASP.NET AJAX Q1 2009 Release Notes for Telerik Reporting Q1 2009 Release Notes for OpenAccess ORM

Q1 Kick-off Webinar & Intro to WebUI Test Studio

In case you missed the live event this morning (11 AM Eastern Time - sorry to those in Europe that were confused by the daylight savings time change in the US), we have moved quickly to make the on-demand resource available online. Enjoy the Q1 2009 release week kick-off webinar here or in "full definition" on Telerik TV and then join us for our next live webinar tomorrow, Wednesday, 11 AM Eastern Time, to learn what's new in the RadControls for WinForms and WPF in Q1 2009. And let me preface this recording by saying this is an overview webinar, so it is light on tech content (as some have pointed out). The rest of the webinars this week will have a lot more tech content and demos, so if you're looking for more "meat," join us everyday at 11AM this week. Watch the Q1 2009 Kick-off Webinar on Telerik TV (in "full" definition)

Q1 2009 Status Update

Looking for the Q1 2009 release? It's almost ready! All teams at Telerik are putting the final touches on the Q1 installers and builds and getting everything queued-up for deployment on Telerik.com. Expect to start seeing the first wave of products available for download on Telerik.com tomorrow, Wednesday. If there is any change to that schedule, I'll be sure to update you here directly. The Q1 2009 release is the biggest in Telerik's history with 7 new product suite releases shipping simultaneously. It's been a huge effort to coordinate all products and get everything ready for the release week, but I think the teams have done an incredible job. While you wait on the bits (please, save your F5 key), check out the up-to-date road maps of what you can expect to find in Q1: What's in the RadControls for WinForms in Q1? What's in the RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX in Q1? What's in the RadControls for Silverlight Q1? What's in the RadControls for WPF in Q1? What's in Telerik Reporting in Q1? What's in OpenAccess ORM in Q1?

Q1 Webinar Week Starts Today!

The HUGE Q1 2009 release week has arrived! Gabe Sumner got things kicked-off on Monday with the Sitefinity 3.6 intro webinar, and I'll carry the torch today, Tuesday, with the "official" Q1 2009 Release Kick-Off webinar. In today's webinar, I'll give you a high-level look at what's coming in Q1 2009 across all of the Telerik product lines and then spend most of the time introducing you to Telerik's brand new WebUI Test Studio. So whether you're just looking to get a quick grasp on what's new in Q1 or if you're eager to see WebUI Test Studio in action- or you just want the latest news on the Q1 release status- this webinar is for you! Things get started today at 11 AM Eastern Time. You can reserve your seat now and then set your Outlook reminders so you're not late. We'll be starting promptly today since we have a lot to cover and we want to keep the event in the 30 - 45 minute range so you have time to attend the other webinars this week. We hope you are as excited about the big Q1 release as we are! Don't miss-out on the excitement and join me later today for a fun-filled live webinar event.

Announcing Q1 Webinar Week

Are you looking for the best way to understand what's new in Telerik's upcoming Q1 2009 release? Then you don't want to miss the huge Q1 Webinar Week! This week long event, hosted by the Telerik Evangelism crew, will bring you a new webinar everyday for a week to show you what's new in one of the biggest Telerik releases ever. Every Telerik product will be covered and every webinar will be loaded with demos and information. Here's the schedule: Monday: Getting Started with Sitefinity 3.6 Tuesday: Introducing Telerik Q1 2009 & WebUI Test Studio Wednesday: What's new in RadControls for WinForms & WPF Thursday: What's new in RadControls for ASP.NET & Silverlight Friday: What's new in Telerik Reporting & OpenAccess ORM Everything kicks-off on Monday, March 9th. Every webinar will be held at 11 AM EST (to try accommodate as many timezones around the world as we can) and we'll work quickly to make webinars available on Telerik TV shortly after the live events. The webinars will also be a bit shorter than normal- about 45 minutes- so that you can easily attend more than one event during the release week. Registration for these webinars is now open, so reserve your free seat today and set your Outlook reminders. There are tons of exciting new features- and products- to learn about in Q1, so jumpstart your learning and make the most of this release by joining us for Webinar Week Q1 2009!

Q1 beta available now, RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX

Sorry folks, I'm bringing this news to you a few days late. Still it doesn't diminish its importance! The Q1 2009 beta for the RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX is now available! This is your chance to get a hands-on look at what's coming in Q1 (for ASP.NET AJAX, at least) and send us your feedback while there's still time to change things before the official release. Here's a highlight of what you'll find in the beta (and, in turn, the Q1 release):

• New "control": RadFileExplorer
• Huge improvements in RadScheduler client-side features
• Improvements to RadGrid Pager and Filter templates
• Official release of RadCompression tool
• New skins: Vista, Default*
• Huge improvements to all skins*

For me, the improvements in RadScheduler and the Telerik skins are the most exciting aspects of this release. Finally we can bind RadScheduler directly to web services and add/remove appointments client-side (without the need for a Ajax server round-trip). And the new skins look great! That said, the observant among you probably caught my "*" items. The new skinning in Q1 does represent a breaking change for custom skins (not a problem for those of you using Telerik skins). We've made some changes to the CSS naming conventions of the controls to better support nested RadControls, and as such, your custom CSS needs to be updated. For more details and an offer from Telerik to fix your skins for you, see this blog post from Telerik Sr. Developer Tervel Peykov. Also, the "Default2006" and "Gray" skins are being retired. The new "Default" skin closely resembles those skins, though, so that is the best migration path for those of you currently using one of the affected skins. We hope you enjoy all of the enhancements and polish in the Q1 release. Let us know what you think and then get ready for the official bits in about 2 weeks! Play with the Q1 2009 beta live demos now Download the Q1 2009 beta

Introducing Telerik WebUI Test Studio, Public beta available now

The wait is over. Telerik today is announcing a brand new product that will be added to our growing line of .NET developer tools in Q1 2009: Telerik WebUI Test Studio. Created in partnership with ArtOfTest, WebUI Test Studio is a next-generation tool for creating automated web UI tests. It integrates directly with Visual Studio (no extra programs required). It enables, easy, interactive web UI test recording (and maintenance). It creates tests that can target multiple browsers (currently IE and FF, soon Safari and Chrome). And best of all, it can intelligently test the RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX. If you are already doing automated web UI testing today, this tool is going to dramatically simplify your workflow and make testing complex controls like the RadControls quick and painless. If you're new to automated web UI testing, this tool is going to finally make what seemed like an impossibly difficult task (automating tests of a website's UI) point-and-click easy. To get started understanding this new tool, be sure to check out all of the videos on Telerik TV (with more to follow very soon). In fact, the intro video is probably the best place to start. We hope that you enjoy this new offering and addition to the Telerik line-up. Combined with the RadControls for your UI and OpenAccess ORM for your data layer, WebUI Test Studio helps you automate another aspect of your developer tasks so that you can focus the majority of your time on the code that makes your (or your clients) money. Keep your RSS tuned-in here for more details and watch Q1 for the official release. 'Til then, download the Telerik WebUI Test Studio Beta and let us know what you think!