The final version of the .NET Framework 3.0 is now available for download

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I'm sure this is already old news by now, but the final version of the .NET Framework 3.0 has been released to the web and can be downloaded and installed now.  Here are the download locations:

The web download bootstrapper is around 3 megabytes in size, and it will inventory your system and only download the components that it detects are relevant for your operating system.  This is particularly useful for systems that already have the .NET Framework 2.0 because that package comprises nearly half of the overall size of the full versions.

The full version for x86 is 50 megabytes and the full version for x64 is 90 megabytes.  These versions are most useful for network deployment scenarios or for including on installation media for .NET Framework 3.0 applications that don't want to depend on internet access in order to deliver the components that make up the .NET Framework 3.0.

You must make sure that you install the build of the Visual Studio 2005 extensions that is listed above.  Previous builds will not recognize that you have the final release of the .NET Framework 3.0 installed and will block you from installing.

Important note:   If you have installed any previous beta version of the .NET Framework 3.0, you must uninstall these versions by using the entry in the Add/Remove Programs control panel before installing the final release version.

<update date="11/7/2006"> Added a link to the Visual Studio development tools that match the final build of the .NET Framework 3.0 </update>