The guide is intended to help developers and solution architects design and build effective, high quality applications using the Microsoft platform and the .NET Framework more quickly and with less risk; it provides guidance for using architecture principles, design principles, and patterns that are tried and trusted. The guidance is presented in sections that correspond to major architecture and design focus points. It is designed to be used as a reference resource or to be read from beginning to end.

New and updated, it seems.

It's good to have a general reference. If only things like Rich Internet Application were there in the first edition, I wouldn't have been fumbling around in the dark trying to convince people of things. Now I can just say "Microsoft says so."