imageEarlier this morning at the Build conference in Redmond it was announced that Team Foundation Service is now out of Preview! The new URL for the service is http://tfs.visualstudio.com. You can read about the changes here: http://tfs.visualstudio.com/en-us/pricing/information/

With this change, accounts are now accessible at http://<youraccountname>.visualstudio.com. The old tfspreview.com domain will continue to work for the foreseeable future, but you should plan on starting to use the new URL.

One difference is that you’ll need to type the full URL (i.e.: https://iedaddy.visualstudio.com) of your account into the Add Team Foundation Server dialog in Visual Studio. Notice that you need to use https:// as well. Rumor has it that this will not be needed after the first Visual Studio update, but for now you get to access it via SSL.

There are quite a few awesome little goodies that are included with the hosted version of TFS.  And if you happen to have an MSDN subscription then just sign up for the Free Plan today and you can use the service for free. When Microsoft begins charging in 2013, access to the service will be offered as a benefit—at no additional charge—for paid MSDN subscribers at these levels:

  • Visual Studio Ultimate with MSDN
  • Visual Studio Premium with MSDN
  • Visual Studio Test Professional with MSDN

The free plan includes these features:

  • Up to 5 users
  • Unlimited number of projects
  • Version control
  • Work item tracking
  • Agile planning tools
  • Feedback management
  • Build (still in preview)

So for those of you looking to evaluate the new Team Foundation Server 2012 or want an environment up and running without the hassle of doing the install and server provisioning, this is an awesome deal and a great value added feature for your MSDN subscription.