Microsoft today released a new updated CTP for Windows Azure SDK and Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio 2008. Both the updates are labeled as January 2009 CTP. 
Windows Azure SDK provides developers with the APIs, tools, documentation, and samples needed to develop Internet-scale applications that run on Windows Azure whereas Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio extend Visual Studio to enable the creation, building, debugging, running and packaging of scalable services on Windows Azure.
The new version of Azure Tools for Visual Studio 2008 January CTP is (1.0.20109.1). Previous version was at (1.0.11023.4).
For those of you who don’t know what Windows Azure is all about:
The Azure Services Platform is designed to help developers quickly and easily create, deploy, manage, and distribute web services and applications on the Internet. Windows Azure is an operating system for the cloud that serves as the development, run-time, and control environment for the Azure Services Platform.
New for the January 2009 CTP:
- Addressed top customer bugs.
- Resolved hang and performance issues on run and debug.
- Fixed issue with "Publish" of large projects.
- Added support to debug Silverlight in a Web Role.
- Better storage services integration
- Error messages when there are Service Configuration or Service Definition errors
Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio includes:
- C# and VB Project templates for building Cloud Services
- Integration with the Development Fabric and Development Storage services
- Debugging Cloud Service Roles running in the Development Fabric
- Building and packaging of Cloud Service Packages
- Browsing to the Azure Services Developer Portal
- Role configuration
- SSL Certificate selection
Download Windows Azure SDK January 2009 CTP
Download Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio 2008 January 2009 CTP
