.NET 3.5 Default Card ImageI’m pleased to announce that the .NET Framework 3.5, which includes a new version of Windows CardSpace, is now available for download. The CardSpace team has been blogging about the new features and usability improvements at the team blog CardSpace: Behind the Code. I highly recommend reading it to understand the details of what the team has included in this release.

I did choose a picture for this post, however, that is emblematic to me of the many usability improvements, large and small, that have been made since the initial CardSpace release in the .NET Framework 3.0. The colored image is the new default self-issued card graphic. The previous default image was sepia-toned, making it difficult to visually distinguish between “full-color” and grayed-out versions of the image (which are shown when the card does not meet the requirements of a relying party). Based on customer feedback, we changed the default image so that it’s now easy to tell the two apart. This is but one example of the numerous improvements we’ve made to CardSpace based on feedback from actual use.

Like its predecessor, the new version runs on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista. Download it and give it a whirl!