Microsoft announced the release of SQL Server 2008 R2 (Release to manufacturing) today (21st April 2010). See the official announcement here. The key enhancements Microsoft emphasized in the release note are:

• Managed self-service business intelligence (BI) for reporting and analysis
• Enterprise-class scalability and greater IT efficiency
• Platform integration spanning the datacenter to the cloud

How to Get Started

• Download a try SQL Server R2 from the official download page.
• Download the free SQL Server 2008 R2 ebook by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner.
• Download the official SQL Server 2008 R2 Guide.
• View SQL Server 2008 R2 videos at R2 Digital Tour Website.
• Download SQL Server 2008 R2 Books Online.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Hosted Trial from PASS

If you would like to try SQL Server 2008 but do not want to download and install it, you can try the hosted trial offered by PASS in association with DELL and MaximumASP. The hosted trial is available at http://previewsqlserver.com/