Downloads

ADO.NET Data Services CTP 1:
ADO.NET Data Services CTP1 (formerly known as Project “Astoria”) has been released in a new preview of the ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions. ADO.NET Data Services provides an infrastructure for the next wave of internet applications by enabling Web applications to expose data as a service that can be consumed by client applications in corporate networks and across the internet.
Astoria is built using the ADO.NET Entity Framework and a set of services layered on top. This architecture allows the use of this technology to address both the scenario where Microsoft hosts a StaaS service and the scenario where our customers and partners deploy the software in their own organizations and roll their own service offerings on the Microsoft platform.

ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions can be downloaded here.

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition:
SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is the next version of MSDE and is a free, easy-to-use, lightweight, and embeddable version of SQL Server 2005. Free to download, free to redistribute, free to embed, and easy for new developers to use immediately, SQL Server Express includes powerful features such as SQL Server Management Studio Express, for easily managing a database. Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of SQL Server Express Edition and to download SQL Server Management Studio.

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition can be downloaded from the Visual Studio Developer Center here.