In case you hadn't heard, Microsoft has (again) pushed back the expected release date for ASP.NET 2.0 Beta 2. I remember back when Beta 2 was slated for Q4 2004, which then got moved to Q1 2005 and now is looking like it will be Q2 2005. From the article (emphasis mine):
Microsoft Corp. is expected to roll out the much-anticipated second beta release of its Visual Studio 2005 development platform at the end of March or early April, sources close to the company said.
According to sources, Microsoft is scheduled to release Beta 2 of Visual Studio 2005, code-named Whidbey, on March 31. Sources also said Microsoft is expected to release the release candidate version of Visual Studio 2005 around the time of the Microsoft PDC (Professional Developers Conference) in Los Angeles in mid-September.
Beta 2 is scheduled to ship with a “Go Live” license, which will allow developers to create public Web sites and applications using 2.0. For that reason it's essential that Beta 2 be as rock solid as a beta can possibly be. If you think about it, Beta 2 for ASP.NET 1.0 was very solid, all things considered. There were only a handful of breaking changes between Beta 2 and RTM for 1.0, and since its release there has been only a couple of service packs and one new version (1.1), which was primarily an upgrade to VS.NET.
In any event, I'm waiting on the public Beta 2 release to start working on a new book. I've been hoping for an early release, as I'm itching to get started, but a delay is probably best as I have some other projects that need my attention for the near future.