I've just spent the day tinkering with SQL 2005 to build a very quick prototype of my Timesheet Project. It only has four tables but was enough to enable me to create a SQL database, load some data with DTS and build an analysis cube. Here are some initial thoughts...

The lack of a database diagram tool in all three studios (Management, BI and Visual) is a pain in the neck as I usually start a database by creating a few tables on a diagram, adding some relationships and changing them around until I'm happy. It's quite an iterative process and very difficult to achieve when you can't see the whole database at once.

The table editing features in the Management Studio are quite easy to use. It's functionality is almost the same as the old Enterprise Manager in this respect but it feels more natural. On the other hand, I don't like the database project feature because it's a poor effort when compared to the facilities provided in other projects (DTS, C#, etc). It was hard work as there is no "create folder" and more importantly the scripts created as the result of "script to new query window" can't be added to the project. You have to create a query file in the project and paste into it. Visual Studio has had "add to project" on the right click menu since before VC6.

The Universal Data Model concept is going to take a little getting used to. It was extremely easy to create the cube using the intellicube wizard but they look strange when compared to SQL 2000 cubes. The dimensions have multiple hierarchies - one for each field in the dimension table. There is no neat star/snowflake schema, just a bunch of tables that look more like an OLTP database.

Finally, DTS development is a dream. The environment is great and there are loads of useful components to use. I did notice, however, that CSV files written by the File Destination component can't be read by the File Source component due to the final CR/LF. I have to assume this is a bug - one for Beta Place...