Now that most things have settled down from recent events, its finally time to announce some much awaited news!

1. XP-Dev.com Version 40 Beta Testing (a.k.a. The Big Four-O)
2. New Hardware in London

XP-Dev.com Version 40 Beta Testing (a.k.a. The Big Four-O)

A new version of XP-Dev.com is just around the corner, which has a lot of new updates including a brand new interface (it will be easier to use, I promise!). The initial testing phase will be a closed beta that is due to start around 1st August 2009 (10 days to go!).

Version 40 is not just a normal upgrade - it’s a complete rewrite and a brand new platform that is easier to use, and packed with new features that will accelerate development and delivery of your projects/products. Its a whole new product and service that will be delivered right to your doorstep and you don’t have to do anything to get all the magic.

If you’re interested in testing the closed beta, you can signup for it here (or use the button below). All you have to do is provide a valid e-mail address and you will get an email when a testing slot is ready for you.

Sign Up for XP-Dev.com Beta Testing

The plan is to run the closed beta for two weeks and do a public release in mid-August. However the final release date will be announced later on, along with a full finalised list of upgrades and features. All your data and repositories will be migrated to the new platform and it will be seamless – you shouldn’t have to do anything at all.

A lot of investment (time, effort, money, hardware, etc) has been put into the new platform. At the moment XP-Dev.com only supports repositories up to 2GB in size, but that is going to change. There will be packages ranging from 512MB to 50GB, and if you need something else bigger, you’ll get a dedicated server just for you (with your own installation of xp-dev.com). Please do contact me if you’re curious to know the prices of these packages, or want to know how much the dedicated server will cost.

If you were planning to upgrade to a Pro account, now is the best time to do it. The new packages in Version 40 are more expensive than the current Pro account (which is just $3.33/month for 2GB of space). If you upgrade to a Pro account now, you will be guaranteed that subscription package ($40/year for 2GB) for life. This applies to all the current Pro account holders as well. You will not be forced to move to one of the new pricier packages.

Once the new packages go live, the current Pro account subscription will be put on the end of life) shelf and replaced with the new set of packages.

New Hardware in London

One of the things that I promised to do was to bring the servers back into the UK where I live. The first of the new servers have arrived and I’ve just finished installing the last bits of the platform on it. Its due to go into a fast and secure data centre at some point next week and will be used for the closed beta testing.

These new servers are a huge step up in terms of performance. and do have some really nifty features installed that will make all of you happy. Full details including some performance figures will be published once the new platform goes live.

If you’re curious about these features, or the new pricing packages, or the new platform in general, feel free to contact me directly and I’ll be more than happy to fill you in on the details.