[Note: Revised instructions posted 8/29/2006]

I am pleased to announce that the CS2007 Starter Site CTP is now available for download from http://connect.microsoft.com/.

To get the bits:

The Commerce Server Connect Site is the main source for product pre-release activity, and has been updated with the release of the CS2007 Starter Site Community Tech Preview (CTP). With this release we have created a newsgroup specifically for discussions regarding the starter site CTP. To download the code, provide feedback to the product team and get access to the newsgroup, please follow the instructions below.

1. Go to http://connect.microsoft.com and sign-in using your Passport Account. If you don’t have a Passport Account, there will be a link on that page to create one.
2. Existing CS2007 Connect site customers:
   1. After sign-in, if you are an existing beta tester from the CS2007 beta program, you can click on “My Participation” link in the menu on the left side of the page.
   2. The next page will display a list of programs and you can click on the link marked “CS2007 Starter Site CTP” to access the CS2007 Starter Site CTP home page. You can then click on the “Downloads” link on the left side of the page, which will load a page showing all downloads currently available on the site for Commerce Server.
   3. You will already have access to the newsgroup for discussions at: microsoft.beta.cs2007.startersite
3. New CS2007 Connect site customers:
   1. If you have not participated in the Commerce Server beta program, you will need to choose CS2007Starter Site CTP from the list of available programs by clicking the link for “Available Connections” in the menu on the left side of the page. From the list of available programs, click on the link to “Apply” next to the CS2007 Starter Site CTP.
   2. After completing registration, you will be automatically given access to the Connect site to download the starter site. From the CS2007 Starter Site CTP home page you can click on the “Downloads” link on the left side of the page, which will load a page showing all downloads currently available on the site for Commerce Server.
   3. To access the newsgroup, please visit the “Newsgroup” link on the left side of the page, which will provide you with an opportunity to create a newsgroup password, and will display your auto-generated Newsgroup ID. You will need to write down both your Newsgroup ID and password so that you have them ready when accessing the Microsoft beta newsgroup server.
   4. You will be able to access the newsgroup for starter site discussions at: microsoft.beta.cs2007.startersite

The Starter Site installation guide can be downloaded from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=72136.

We hope you enjoy this release and provide plenty of feedback through the Connect site. Just remember – this is NOT for production usage and there will not be an upgrade path to the final Starter Site when it is released.