In excess of 100 new features are offered with the release of National Instruments' LabVIEW version 8 graphical development platform for design, test and control applications. This major upgrade introduces productivity-enhancing features, including a project based environment for managing large applications and team development, and a very useful Drive Finder that recognises connected instruments and automatically downloads the appropriate drivers, thereby eliminating a lot of tedious manual set-up. Version 8 also presents some significant updates to the LabVIEW modules, including Real-Time, FPGA and PDA, as well as the datalogging and supervisory control module.You can now manage distributed applications on multiple computing targets with the LabVIEW 8 Project Explorer, as well as develop, execute and debug LabVIEW codes on Windows, Real-Time, FPGA and PDA targets simultaneously. It is also now possible to simplify data transfer between remote, intelligent devices, using the new LabVIEW shared variable, scalable communications interface, and implement deterministic communications with a time-triggered Ethernet network of LabVIEW Real-Time targets.This new release has been extensively beta tested. Among the 300 pre-release users, Steve Conquergood of the Canadian company, Advanced Measurements says that LabVIEW 8 has dramatically simplified the development, testing and support of distributed applications. Using the LabVIEW configuration based approach, he says, his team is easily able to synchronise intelligent nodes and incorporate either NI FPGA based programmable automation controllers or third party PLCs.