Of lazy hazy summer days and the BizTalk Server 2006 Beta

I took the whole week off from work last week and the wet weather had a week off too! I was soooo proud of myself as I didn't read email once (ok once, but that was after an urgent phone call and under duress only).  I stayed at home while my various relatives flew up from NZ and Australia.  I now have a nice sun-tan and I did a bunch of entertaining things to my house including shovelling rocks and soil and building walls and sinking concrete posts.  If you need a bunch of river-rocks for landfill and have a big trucker and something to put it into the truck then let me know...

While I was playing the team finished the first beta of BizTalk Server 2006.  This is our most solid beta 1 in the 5 years we have been working on the product.  This beta is functionality complete and having the CTP release really helped.  Take it for a test-drive and let us know what you think!

To get BizTalk Server 2006 Beta 1:
1) Log into https://beta.microsoft.com using your Microsoft ® Passport Network Account.
2) On the blue bar near the top of the page click on “Sign in as Guest” and use the Guest ID “BizTalkBetaTeam”
3) On the left side under “Program Info”, click on “Survey” and complete the “BizTalk Server 2006 Open Beta Nomination Form”
4) Complete and submit the form.

Within 1-2 business days you should receive a confirmation letter from Microsoft welcoming you to the BizTalk Server 2006 Beta Program.  This letter will contain additional information on where to download the Beta and access the support newsgroup.