A while ago, I wrote about VistaDB 3.0 as a light-weight, easy to deploy database for managed environments. By way of follow-up, the product has now been released as production code. Trial downloads are available.
[Full Disclosure: I have no financial interest in the product or company, but the vendor does offer free versions of its software to Microsoft MVPs.]
A while back, Sascha Corti of Microsoft Switzerland put together a great half-day hands-on lab (HOL) that walks you through enhancing a typical e-commerce site with ASP.NET AJAX. He made the tutorial and code available for free on his Web site. The instructions were in French and German because those were the languages of the original participants.
When Brad Abrams blogged about this great content, many asked for an English version and I was glad to do the translation from the French. (I was a journalist in Quebec City for seven years.)
While I was at it, I updated Sascha's instructions to reflect the release version of ASP.NET AJAX and I see that Sascha has done the same for the French and German content.
You can download the whole package at Sascha's site: http://www.corti.com:80/WebLogSascha/PermaLink.aspx/2887bca6-b9a3-4f8b-aa3f-3a705bee59ba
I based my presentation for the Victoria .NET Developers Association's recent Code Camp on Sascha's examples. Thanks Sascha!