Avalon CTP Release - bring on the 3D!

If you're an MSDN subscriber (including Academic), and you're interested in graphics (including 3D), visualization, or the next version of Longhorn's presentation system -- then today is your lucky day!

The November 2004 Community Technical Preview (CTP) of Avalon was released this morning. That means that those of us who still run WinXP on our primary dev machine can explore the next generation of the Windows presentation system -- without running the Longhorn beta!

You can get the Avalon CTP release using MSDN Subscription Downloads.

This release has some tools support, and there's a lot of information available from the Avalon squad to help you get started. MS powerhouse Chris Sells has compiled a very comprehensive list of links, information and news.

An exciting aspect of Avalon is its deep support for 3D. If you're new to the world of 3D, another MS blogger, Daniel Lehenbauer, put together a very thoughtful series of entries called "3D for the Rest of Us." Here are the first and second installments. Dan does an excellent job of cutting away the jargon and explaining how to think in three dimensions. 

Must run, I've got some CTP installing to do... ;)

p.s. By the way, Avalon is about far more than just 3D support.  This is a great summary. Check this out. No, go on. Just click it. You know you want to.