Tools to develop Vista generation applications

The tools be will give the intellisense, visual designers, configuration editors, registration tools, and log viewer nesscary to develop or get familer with WCF, WPF, WF, or Cardspace. 

.NET Framework 3.0
A new managed code programming model for Windows®. It combines the power of the .NET Framework version 2.0 with new technologies for building applications that have visually compelling user experiences, seamless communication across technology boundaries, and the ability to support a wide range of business processes. These new technologies are Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), and Windows CardSpace. The .NET Framework 3.0 is included as part of the Windows Vista™ operating system. This redistributable package is for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

Download available at Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Redistributable Package.

Visual Studio 2005 Orcus Extensions (Code name "Fidalgo") Provides developers with support for building .NET Framework 3.0 applications using the released version of Visual Studio 2005. These tools are provided as an early preview of technology being considered for the Orcas release of Visual Studio. These tools are not supported by Microsoft but provided as is to enable early adoption of the .NET Framework 3.0 platform. Users will be expected to upgrade to the Visual Studio Orcas release when that becomes commercially available. Please fully review the EULA provided to understand the terms of this release.

This release includes XAML Intellisense support through schema extensions for the editor, project templates for the Windows Presentation Foundation and the Windows Communication Foundation, and .NET Framework 3.0 SDK documentation integration. This release contains a preview of the Visual Designer for Windows Presentation Foundation (code name "Cider"). More information can be found on the Channel 9 Wiki site for Cider. This release does not include a graphical design surface for the Windows Communication Foundation.

This is the last release of this technology that will be in the form of a set of extensions for Visual Studio 2005. Any new technology in this space will be included in CTPs of the next full version of Visual Studio which is currently code named “Orcas”. The Visual Studio Orcas CTP releases will include some of the technology available in this CTP. The availability of this technology in Orcas will come online at various points during the development cycle and may have differences from features available by installing this product with Visual Studio 2005. You are strongly encouraged to install the Orcas CTP to get an early look at how these features will exist in the next supported version of Visual Studio.

Downloads available at:
Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 (WCF & WPF), November 2006 CTP
Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 (Windows Workflow Foundation)

Windows Vista SDK
The Microsoft® Windows® Software Development Kit (SDK) provides the documentation, samples, header files, libraries, and tools you need to develop applications that run on Windows.

The Windows SDK includes content for application development with the APIs in Windows Vista, including the .NET Framework 3.0 technologies: .NET Framework 2.0, Windows® Presentation Foundation, Windows® Communication Foundation, Windows® Workflow Foundation, and Windows CardSpace™.

This SDK is designed for use with Windows Vista (which includes Framework 3.0). The Windows SDK for Vista also supports creating applications for Windows XP, Windows Server® 2003 SP1, and Windows Server 2003 R2.

Download available at Microsoft® Windows® Software Development Kit for Windows Vista™ and .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components

Note: If you're upgrading from a prior releases (Beta, RC1, etc), make sure uninstall all bits before installing the the RTM bits.