New Windows Vista and WinFX Sites Launched

In addition to the launch of the first public Windows Vista Beta since last year's PDC, we have also published a complete redesign of the MSDN Windows Vista and WinFX developer centers in order to create a seamless, unified experience for users moving from one site to another. The sites also reflect the look and feel of the Windows Vista UI, and the Windows Vista site on www.microsoft.com.

There were many goals associated with this project, including

  • Ensuring that key technical information is more discoverable with redesigned site navigation
  • Coordination with other site teams to launch a set of sites that are visually connected, similar in messaging, but audience-appropriate
  • Creating a seamless, unified experience for users moving from one site to another – whether that be from Vista to WinFX or among the various audience-specific Vista sites (MSDN, TechNet and Microsoft.com)
  • Supporting a newer, cleaner "look and feel"

While the look and feel you see today is a huge step in the right direction – especially in terms of helping developers find the information they need more quickly – we're definitely not finished. Over the next couple of weeks, stay tuned for the following additions/modifications to the Vista and WinFX Developer Centers.

  • Learning - The Learning section will be updated to better offer guidance and help to people new to Windows Vista development. This includes overview pages of various technologies with links to articles and hands-on labs for further discovery as well as links to training as that becomes available from the Microsoft Learning Product Group.
  • Community - As many have seen with our "CodeZone" initiative, we as a company are focusing more and more on the aggregation of various information sources to enable developers to find the help they need. In addition, product teams are more committed than ever to answering your questions on the various MSDN Forums. To that end, we're almost complete with a new Community page that will enable developers to locate all of these resources from a single page.
  • Support - Another page we've redesigned that is close to publication is the Support page that enable developers to quickly find the level of support they need from a single page

At the end of the day, our job performance is measured by whether or not we've been able to provide to you, the developer, the information you need in an easily accessible manner. Therefore, as always please feel free to email me regarding any improvements that you would like to see regarding your experience with the Windows Vista and WinFX Developer Centers.