Dan Fernandez, the Lead Product Manager of Microsoft Visual Studio Express line of products has announced in his blog that effective April 19th, 2006, all Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions will remain free permanently.
According to his blog:
"Dear Visual Studio Express community,
We are incredibly excited to announce that effective April 19th, 2006, all Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions including Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual J#, Visual C++, and Visual Web Developer Express will be free permanently!
Prior to this pricing announcement, Visual Studio Express Editions were promotionally discounted to be free for one year, starting on November 7th, 2005. With this announcement, the promotional discount for Visual Studio Express is now permanent and Express will continue to be free.
The key reason for the pricing change was you. You’ve helped make Visual Studio Express a runaway hit, and we’re proud to announce that in the five months since its launch, Express has been downloaded over 5 million times!"
In addition to announcing that Express is free, they also have some very cool new content with something for everyone including:
Microsoft .NET Interface for Lego Mindstorms Starter Kit
The Microsoft .NET interface for Lego Mindstorms enables you to programmatically control Lego Mindstorms directly from Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual J#, or Visual C++ Express. We also have a dedicated sub-page on Coding4Fun on programming Lego Mindstorms with Express.
Beta: Skype Wrapper for .NET Starter Kit
The Beta of the Skype Wrapper for .NET Starter Kit is a managed code wrapper with samples that enables to programmatically connect and consume Skype services from Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual J#, or Visual C++ Express.
MediaShare Messenger Starter Kit
The Media Share Messenger Starter Kit is a fully functioning Visual C++ Express custom chat client that enables you to send instant messages to your friends and even share your music collection with them over a local area network (LAN).
Annotated Travel Log Starter Kit
The Annotated Travel Log Starter Kit is a fully functioning Visual C++ Express travel planning and tracking application you can use to manage your travel plans & routes, as well as track and record your progress.
Beta: Classifieds Site Starter Kit
The Classifieds Site Starter Kit Beta provides a complete, ready to run, fully customizable, Web site for listing and managing classified advertisements with Visual Web Developer Express and SQL Server Express.
Teacher Starter Kit
The Teacher Starter Kit is a rich client application for keeping track of students, course rosters, and assessments or grades using Visual Basic or Visual C# Express.
Maker Faire Demo: Dancing4Fun
The Dancing4Fun demo is a homemade version of the popular Dance, Dance, Revolution arcade game using Phidgets touchpad sensors to time your dancing just right.
Maker Faire Demo: MSN Spaces Photo Booth
The MSN Spaces Photo Booth demo shows how you can integrate a pan-and-tilt web cam, and an Xbox 360 controller to dynamically upload pictures to your MSN Spaces Web site.
Maker Faire Demo: Skype Home Automation
The Skype Home Automation extends the Skype Starter Kit to show how you can use an instant messaging application to communicate with a home server for the purposes of automation and monitoring, like checking if the lights are on, or even play your favorite music.
How-To Videos: Windows Forms Controls
These bite-sized 5-15 minute videos that show how to use common Windows Forms controls including the SoundPlayer, FlowLayout, NotifyIcon, Button, and other controls using Visual Basic or Visual C# Express.
Video Series: SQL Server 2005 Express for Beginners
This four-hour video series is designed for beginners who are interested in learning the basics of how to create and manage data using SQL Server 2005 Express.
Video Series: Learn how to create Rocket Commander
Watch and learn how to create professional looking 3D games like RocketCommander using Managed DirectX and Visual C# Express in this 10-part instructional video series.
Webcast Series: Tools for the Hobbyist Developer
The Tools for the Hobbyist Developer webcast series covers the spectrum of Express content including game development, programming for hardware, database development and more.
Also announced is a brand new contest called "Made In Express Contest". The Made In Express contest is your chance to shine and win $10,000 in prizes by building a cool, fun project using Visual Studio and SQL Server Express. To know more about the contest or to enter, please visit this website.
According to his blog:
"Dear Visual Studio Express community,
We are incredibly excited to announce that effective April 19th, 2006, all Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions including Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual J#, Visual C++, and Visual Web Developer Express will be free permanently!
Prior to this pricing announcement, Visual Studio Express Editions were promotionally discounted to be free for one year, starting on November 7th, 2005. With this announcement, the promotional discount for Visual Studio Express is now permanent and Express will continue to be free.
The key reason for the pricing change was you. You’ve helped make Visual Studio Express a runaway hit, and we’re proud to announce that in the five months since its launch, Express has been downloaded over 5 million times!"
In addition to announcing that Express is free, they also have some very cool new content with something for everyone including:
Microsoft .NET Interface for Lego Mindstorms Starter Kit
The Microsoft .NET interface for Lego Mindstorms enables you to programmatically control Lego Mindstorms directly from Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual J#, or Visual C++ Express. We also have a dedicated sub-page on Coding4Fun on programming Lego Mindstorms with Express.
Beta: Skype Wrapper for .NET Starter Kit
The Beta of the Skype Wrapper for .NET Starter Kit is a managed code wrapper with samples that enables to programmatically connect and consume Skype services from Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual J#, or Visual C++ Express.
MediaShare Messenger Starter Kit
The Media Share Messenger Starter Kit is a fully functioning Visual C++ Express custom chat client that enables you to send instant messages to your friends and even share your music collection with them over a local area network (LAN).
Annotated Travel Log Starter Kit
The Annotated Travel Log Starter Kit is a fully functioning Visual C++ Express travel planning and tracking application you can use to manage your travel plans & routes, as well as track and record your progress.
Beta: Classifieds Site Starter Kit
The Classifieds Site Starter Kit Beta provides a complete, ready to run, fully customizable, Web site for listing and managing classified advertisements with Visual Web Developer Express and SQL Server Express.
Teacher Starter Kit
The Teacher Starter Kit is a rich client application for keeping track of students, course rosters, and assessments or grades using Visual Basic or Visual C# Express.
Maker Faire Demo: Dancing4Fun
The Dancing4Fun demo is a homemade version of the popular Dance, Dance, Revolution arcade game using Phidgets touchpad sensors to time your dancing just right.
Maker Faire Demo: MSN Spaces Photo Booth
The MSN Spaces Photo Booth demo shows how you can integrate a pan-and-tilt web cam, and an Xbox 360 controller to dynamically upload pictures to your MSN Spaces Web site.
Maker Faire Demo: Skype Home Automation
The Skype Home Automation extends the Skype Starter Kit to show how you can use an instant messaging application to communicate with a home server for the purposes of automation and monitoring, like checking if the lights are on, or even play your favorite music.
How-To Videos: Windows Forms Controls
These bite-sized 5-15 minute videos that show how to use common Windows Forms controls including the SoundPlayer, FlowLayout, NotifyIcon, Button, and other controls using Visual Basic or Visual C# Express.
Video Series: SQL Server 2005 Express for Beginners
This four-hour video series is designed for beginners who are interested in learning the basics of how to create and manage data using SQL Server 2005 Express.
Video Series: Learn how to create Rocket Commander
Watch and learn how to create professional looking 3D games like RocketCommander using Managed DirectX and Visual C# Express in this 10-part instructional video series.
Webcast Series: Tools for the Hobbyist Developer
The Tools for the Hobbyist Developer webcast series covers the spectrum of Express content including game development, programming for hardware, database development and more.
Also announced is a brand new contest called "Made In Express Contest". The Made In Express contest is your chance to shine and win $10,000 in prizes by building a cool, fun project using Visual Studio and SQL Server Express. To know more about the contest or to enter, please visit this website.