Are you interested in programming for the Windows platform or even the web application via ASP.NET? Microsoft has released the Beta 2 of their Express Editions. The best is that they cost $0. They are completely free and may be even used in commercial products. I have also used them in some courses for my university work because they were free and I did want to develop in C#. The only problem is that the stand-alone installers are quite big: 400+ megabytes are a lot when you are on a dial-in.
The Express Editions are available for several .NET languages, such as Visual Basic 2008, Visual C# 2008, Visual C++ 2008 and Visual Web Developer 2008. Visual C++ Express allows for the first time (speaking of an Express Edition) to develop native Windows applications. Native Windows applications are applications that run without the .NET framework.
Each Express Edition can be installed side-by-side with the older 2005 versions or any other Visual Studio installation. Everything will just work.
If you have some free time, try them out. Problems and bugs that might be in the beta versions should be reported to Microsoft. They are usually very fast in providing answers. I have installed the Beta 2 on my computer and it seems to be very solid. The .NET Framework (version 3.5) that comes with the Beta 2 has also a go-live license. That means you can legally publish and distribute applications that are building upon .NET 3.5 Beta 2.
For more information about what has been changed in the Express Editions have a look at the series that Dan Fernandez started at his blog.
You are a novice programmer? You need introduction to the tools? Have a look at the “Beginner Developer Learning Center”. It’s a great resource for beginners, who are interested in Windows and Web programming.
Another interesting toolkit for the hobbyist programmers is the “Coding4Fun Developer Kit 2008 Vol.1”. It is a collection of tools that provides a set of drag ’n drop controls and components that enable rapid development of hobbyists. Another example is the Facebook Developer Toolkit, which is a set of controls and components that provide Visual Basic and C# wrappers for the Facebook API that allow you to easily and quickly develop .NET applications that you can share with your Facebook friends.