Ok, so I know lots of other sites will have this announced, and if you frequent creators.xna.com you already know this, but I can't not announce this too:

The beta version of XNA Game Studio 2.0 has been released.

It's been told that the final version will come pretty soon also, but until then you can experiment with new features included in the beta: multiplayer, virtualised device, project management, etc.

Go get it HERE.

John Wells released a nice little component, which allows us to display messages similar to the Achievement notices on the Xbox 360. Of course, it will not alter your gamerscore, but it adds a very cool touch to a game.

Here's how it looks in action:

It is nicely packed as a .dll file, together with a couple of content files. You can download it here.