You can download all six Microsoft Visual Express Editions (C++, C#, VB.NET, J#, SQL, and ASP.NET) for free until November 7, 2006. If you have all six, you essentially have Microsoft Visual Studio Standard Edition, which costs 300 dollars. So get downloading! Visual ASP.NET will probably be the most useful to all of you. Check them out at MSDN: http://msdn.microsoft.com/express

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This is a very nice find, thanks for the link. Is there any reason why microsoft is offering this for free right now? This just sounds like one of those things with a catch.

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These have actually been around for months, but only in November did they come out with a release version. The most probable reason Micro$oft is doing this is so that you can get your feet wet in programming and convince you to upgrade to the paid versions after you find that the VS Express editions aren't good enough for you (missing some advanced features, don't really know which). BTW, there are (or used to be) free training vidoes made by Bob Taylor (of LearnVisualStudio.net, http://www.learnvisualstudio.net/) on the Express editions. Also, after November 7, 2006, they won't be free.

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There's really no need to upgrade as long as you have all six Express Editions. All together they equal Visual Studio Standard, which is more than any hobbyist (and a few pro) developer will ever need. A M$ spokesperson did say that MS no longer saw the point of selling its development tools. They are what keep the applications rolling in for their system, after all. Then again, they do have to pay the programmers that work hard to make those tools.

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Thet still offer the paid editions, they provide you with CD's, manuals, and support; also, the Express Editions have to be downloaded (if you choose to install MSDN Express Library, which includes lots of helpful documentation, it adds up to more than 500 MB) or you can buy a CD (for a few bucks).

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Either ay you look at it, it's a great cost-free way to dip into some developing/programming...as long as you have a big enough hard drive and memory power to handle all those programs.

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I guess I can't download this it is far to big. my hard drive ios only 150 gb! I guess i could buy a new one.

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I guess Microsoft is using the same strategy as Java and other opeen-source applications, giving them out for free, so Microsoft can somehow wins back its consumers... That should just be a gimmick.. After all 1 year later in November, the visual studio express editions will be charged back high price.. By then, people would have downloaded the free copies and Microsoft might not earn much profits by charging them 1 year later.. So its just a gimmick strategy..

Or probably because Windows Vista is coming out next year, and its based on .NET framework platform, Microsoft is using this method to attract its developers to create applications for Vista to make Vista grow..

 

 

 

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I downloaded these before (if your talking about Beta of 2005) and I compile stuff with these and the If tags doesn't work. I'm like WTF and found out that was a bug in them.

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The release versions came out recently, so maybe the bugs have been squashed since that version. I haven't found any real difficulty with these products (VB 2005 Express Beta2 and VWD 2005 Express Release), so it's probably only on your machine. Which language did you download?

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