Microsoft are obviously scared by open source and the very good free dev platforms available for open OSes...
They've decided to release their [url="http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/"]Visual Studio Express Editions free to download for one year. This includes C++, C#, J#, VB and 'web' developer[/url]
According to their FAQ, this means that if you download before November 6th next year, you can use what you've downloaded free forever. After Nov 6th next year, the software will become available at low cost.
For anyone out there that's ever been dissuaded from devloping for Windows because they refuse to pay for VisualStudio and also refuse to pirate it, this is great news.
So, broadbanders - download them now in case you ever need them later!