Microsoft is offering the express versions of their Visual Studio development tools free to anyone who downloads them before November 8, 2006. The express version tools are intended to allow hobbyist and novice programmers to create Windows programs without the expense and complexity of the full blown profession development tools.
The way the offer is presented has caused some confusion. What does Microsoft mean that the tools were free for a year? Does that mean that you can use them for a year and then pay for them or stop using them? If you read the FAQ and the forum on the subject it does become clear that as long as you download them within a year of the launch date you may use them free for as long as you want. Additionally, the express version of the Microsoft SQL Database is free no matter when you obtain it.
For some reason Microsoft leads you to believe the that the downloads are less than fifty megabytes. That may be true for the initial ActiveX setup file, but to install any of the tools and make them useful the download is more like 400 megabytes. If you don't have a fast connection it would be best to get a friend with broadband to download the full install files and burn them to CD for you.
Despite a bit of confusion, this is a great opportunity for those who might not otherwise get a chance to learn to program with modern easy to use tools to do so for free. In addition to the free tools Microsoft also has plenty of free tutorial information to get you started using them.
