To pile on to today’s barrage of news and beta software releases – in case you’ve been living under a rock, I’m referring to the release of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows Server 8 beta – Microsoft has also released the Visual Studio 11 Beta with .NET 4.5 Beta for download.

Unless you’re without power and can’t get to the Internet or watch TV, you’re likely aware that Microsoft’s BUILD conference is currently taking place. Microsoft kicked it off yesterday by showing off the next major upgrade for Windows, known as Windows 8, and today it focused on development for the platform.