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Microsoft announced today that the final release candidate of Team Foundation Server 2017, scheduled to launch alongside Visual Studio 2017 on March 7, is now available for download.
In addition to various bug fixes, the software includes a feature that can keep development teams from stepping on one another’s toes.
“Probably the most frequently requested new addition is breaking up of the Git repository administration permissions so that you can, for instance, give people the permission to create repos without giving them permission to administer everyone else’s,” said Microsoft vice president Brian Harry in a Feb. 13 announcement. The new release candidate also includes localization support that was missing in earlier builds.
While Microsoft still has a few more bugs to fix, the release candidate is a supported “go-live” release suitable for production environments, assured Harry. When TFS 2017 launches next month, the latest RC2 build should upgrade seamlessly. Download are release notes links are available here.
While coders wait for Visual Studio 2017 and Team Foundation Server 2017 to arrive, they can start planning for this year’s flagship developer event from Microsoft, Build 2017. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 9:00 a.m. PST, the company announced last Friday.
For 2017, the Build conference is moving to downtown Seattle from San Francisco, where the event has been held the past few years. Seattle, of course, is just 15-mile commute from Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash. headquarters.
Build 2017 will take place May 10th through the 12th this year. Potential attendees can keep tabs on the official Build website here.
Each year, Microsoft hosts several events, from a hardware-themed fall event in New York City to countless meetups across the globe. Amid all these, Build has become a flagship event for Microsoft that lays much of the groundwork for the company technology strategy.
Last year’s build conference was a showcase for the anticipated Anniversary Update for Windows 10 and Visual Studio’s new cross-platform development capabilities, courtesy of the company’s acquisition of mobile app development toolmaker Xamarin.
This year, the company will focus on its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, suggested Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise Group, in a Feb. 10 announcement.
“Build’s also the place to get deep technical dives into the great things we’re doing today to help developers build the next generation of intelligent apps and services,” stated Guthrie. “We’ve been ‘building’ toward this for a while — for instance, [Feb. 7], we announced updates to our Cognitive Services that help developers build apps that understand people and the world around us.”
Last week, the company added several new capabilities to its collection of AI and machine-learning tools for developers. They include a Custom Speech Service that pick out voices from noisy environments, paving the way for voice-recognition systems that work in factory floors and other cacophonous workplaces. Microsoft is also making available its Bing Speech API, which converts spoken words into text, a stepping stone toward interactive voice-enabled apps.