As I mentioned in my previous blog post, we ended up with a little too much time between previews, to our subsequent embarrassment. In fact, it came to our attention recently that the licensing for the most “recent” CTP (and admittedly I use the term “recent” loosely, given that it was released in September 2012) is set to expire on January 1^st, 2014.   

We don’t really want to reopen a 15-month-old deliverable to update the license, particularly when the code involved is completely out-of-date and we’re working on a plan to resume previews anyway (as I also mentioned in the earlier blog).  But, we know that some of you are still using it (it being the only game in town for the moment).  So, we’ve worked with our legal eagles to craft a new license which you can download separately in order to continue using the preview legally after the turn of the New Year, and you can find it at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=41551.

However, I want to add that the intent of this post is not to introduce new users to the old preview.  Frankly, that code is so old and divergent from the current code that there’s minimal insight to be gained by perusing it (and any feedback on it will be nearly useless to us as well).  Its value is primarily only to those who have some ongoing experiments that they aren’t prepared to shut down yet.  So, if you haven’t jumped on the Roslyn train yet, I’d consider holding off from downloading that old September 2012 preview, and waiting a little longer.  Yeah, I know that’s big talk coming from a team which hasn’t uploaded a new preview in ages, but we’re committed to getting these going again.  Subsequent previews will be way cooler, way more useful, and far more relevant from a feedback point of view.

(I’m heading out on holidays right after I push “post” on this, but will check comments when I’m back in a couple of weeks.)

‘Til next time,

 –Matt–*