Microsoft's Visual Studio.Net, the centerpiece of the company's next-generation .Net platform, is set to go gold and be handed over to MSDN professionals in November with retail availability now scheduled for February 2002, said sources familiar with Microsoft's plans. At Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference 2001 later this month in Los Angeles, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates will formally launch the Release Candidate 1 of Visual Studio.Net platform and .Net Framework Classes as well as the first software development kit for .Net MyServices, formerly known as HailStorm services, sources said. While that's the goal Microsoft is shooting for, officials aren't sure whether the RTM will be finished by Comdex, which runs from Nov. 12-16, or shortly thereafter. Microsoft's Gates officially plans the official launch at developer conference VSLive on Feb. 13, said another source close to the company. While Visual Studio.Net won't be on shelves until February, the release of the code to manufacturing next month, along with the .Net Framework, is a big coup for the software giant, which is under tremendous pressure to demonstrate to the industry that .Net technology is real, and not a distant blueprint, observers said.