Microsoft launches Visual Studio 2005

Microsoft unveiled Visual Studio 2005 at an event in San Francisco accompanied by 1970s rock band Cheap Trick. The new version has many new features, including support for native Active Template Libraries to help developers create C++ apps for mobile devices. Microsoft has also extended the MFC to support mobile development. Microsoft will offer a Visual Studio 2005 Express for free to non-commercial users and $50 to commercial users. High-end Visual Studio Team System products cost upwards of $10,000. The event also marked the launch of a long-awaited update to the Microsoft's SQL Server. Article