ADO.NET Data Services 1.0 was released with .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and early adopters were impressed with the combination of power and simplicity for exposing RESTful web services in front of ADO.NET Entity Framework (or pretty much anything with a bit/lot of work). However, those same early adopters soon created a long wish list of features they would like the team to add. The good news is they (and you) won’t have to wait until .NET 4.0 to see them included. The team has announced that there will be a 1.5 release ahead of .NET 4.0 and that a CTP1 of 1.5 would soon be available.

Enhancements and features include:

• Data Binding: The data services client library will include two-way data binding for WPF and Silverlight based applications.  
• Row Count: Determine the total number of entities in a set without having to retrieve them all. 
• Feed Customization (aka "Web Friendly Feeds"): Customize how entities are mapped into the various elements of an AtomPub feed. 
• Server Driven Paging: Paging through results.
• Enhanced BLOB Support: Large BLOBs, deferred loading and more.
• New "Data Service Provider" Interface for Custom Provider Writers: V1 supported Entity Framework and arbitrary .NET classes. 1.5 adds the ability to write a custom provider.

I can’t wait!