Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008 (formerly known as, Microsoft® Visual Studio® code name “Orcas”) delivers on Microsoft’s vision of smart client applications by enabling developers to rapidly create connected applications that deliver the highest quality rich user experiences. With Visual Studio 2008, organizations will find it easier than ever before to capture and analyze information so that they can make effective business decisions. Visual Studio 2008 enables any size organization to rapidly create more secure, manageable & reliable applications that take advantage of Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system.

"It is Microsoft's desire to ship Visual Studio 2008 by the end of this calendar year (although, as always, customer feedback ultimately determines when a product is ready to ship)," the representative said in an e-mail. "The February launch event is more of an opportunity to show customers, partners, and the community the wave of innovation Microsoft is delivering with all three products represented (i.e. Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008)."