The Express products, expanding the Visual Studio product line to include lightweight, easy-to-use, easy-to-learn tools for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and novices who want to build dynamic Windows applications and Web sites.

Free Visual Studio 2005 Express Beta Products :


Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Beta

Visual C# 2005 Express Edition Beta

Visual C++ 2005 Express Beta

Visual J# 2005 Express Edition Beta

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Technical Preview


These are 50+ MB downloads, which includes .NET framework 2.0 beta.

these are enticing, thanks for the links. however i think i will hold off. it's bad enough dealing with my lack of programming skills, but then to have to deal with a beta compiler would put me over the edge