SQL Server 2012 and Visual Studio 2012 data connection

I installed SQL Server 2012 (64 bit edition) and couldnt get any data connections to work -- except direct links to .mdf files -- no useful errors either. I remembered vaguely that with SQL Server 2008 R2 you had to use the 32 bit with Visual Studio since Visual Studio is still unaccountably 32 bit, and so I uninstalled and laboriously downloaded the 32 bit SQL Server and the new 32 bit database system was visible to Visual Studio, and the 64 bit connection actually gave an interesting error
"Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server"
which would suggest that maybe the firewall is the problem and that the 64 bit DBMS is showing up as an external application to Visual Studio (or something like that -- life is too short for me to follow it up since I got the 32 bit version working, but the links will be here... for me too if I ever need to come back)

the MSDN articles
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms174937%28v=sql.100%29.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb934283%28v=sql.100%29.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms141198%28v=sql.100%29.aspx


And maybe automate opening the ports through the firewall:
http://consultantpoint.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/bat-script-to-open-sql-server-ports-in-the-firewall/ 

And if you are encountering Administrative rights pain again:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/enable-the-hidden-administrator-account-on-windows-vista/ 


And this might be useful too:
http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2012/11/30/sql-server-fix-visual-studio-error-connections-to-sql-server-files-mdf-require-sql-server-express-2005-to-function-properly-please-verify-the-installation-of-the-component-or-download-from-the/