Earlier this week Microsoft said that they planned to ship Visual Studio "Orcas" Beta 1 for download some time in April. On April 19, they made good on their word.

Microsoft posted Visual Studio Codename "Orcus" Beta 1 Professional Edition for download and accompanying Team System lifecycle-development system tools; the 3.5 release of the .Net Framework; and a first Community Technology Preview (CTP) pre-beta build of the Express version of Orcas for non-professional programmers and hobbyists.

Microsoft said earlier this week to expect a Beta 2 of Orcas later this year. The final version of Orcas may be released to manufacturing by the end of calendar 2007, but could slip into 2008, they said.

Here are some links to know more about the new Visual Studio Codename "Orcus":
Feature Specifications for Visual Studio and .NET Framework "Orcas"
Microsoft Pre-release Software Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas" Beta 1
Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas" Express Editions
My "First Look at Orcas" Presentation
Visual Studio "Orcas" Web Designer Integrated into Main
Conversation with Somasegar: Orcas Beta 1 and Beyond on Channel9