Tons of free resources to learn Visual Studio 2005

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For years, Microsoft has focused on the experienced professional developer. With the launch of Visual Studio 2005 there is a big change in that we are extending our focus to lifecycle developers at the high-end but also at beginners, tire-kickers, novices, students, or experienced developers who want to evaluate new technologies. Now there are all kinds of free resources to help developers get started and/or upgrade their skills. This is a quick summary of what is available now:

Free e-learning modules from Microsoft Learning. These are self-paced, multimedia, multi-hour online courses with assessments at the end of each lesson. Free courses include:

Introduction to Visual Studio Team System

Creating Your First Microsoft® ASP.NET 2.0 Web Application

Building Data Components in Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005

Upgrading from Microsoft® Visual Basic® 6.0: Introduction to the Microsoft .NET Framework

Webcast series are less formal ways of learning by watching a presentation. The series are quite interesting because they cover a topic from beginning to end in multiple 30/60 minute chunks. Take a look at https://msdn.microsoft.com/events/series . Avaliable series include:

Visual Basic 2005 developer productivity

Developing Smart Client applications with Visual Studio 2005

Visual Studio Team System

SQL Server 2005

Explore Web Development with ASP.NET 2.0
And many more

I am sure most people have hard about the Visual Studio Express Editions, which are completely free (at least for the next 12 months). The Express Editions are lightweight, easy-to-use, and easy-to-learn tools for the hobbyist, novice, and student developer. But don’t get mislead, these are quite powerful and complete. Get them now at https://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/

Visual Web Developer 2005 Express

Visual Basic 2005 Express

Visual C# 2005 Express

Visual C++ 2005 Express

Visual J# 2005 Express

SQL Server Express

Free books, components, and resources for developers who register their copy of any of the Visual Studio Express Editions. We are offering thousands of dollars worth of resources from Microsoft and our partners to help you get started and make the most out of these tools. Depending on the product you register, your benefits may include the following:

A collection of over 100 professional, royalty-free stock icons from IconBuffet.com

A selection of components for use in applications that you build

An assortment of 250 royalty-free images from Corbis for inclusion in your web sites and applications

Full-text electronic books from Microsoft Press including
- Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition: Build a Web Site Now!
- Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now!
- Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express Edition: Build a Program Now!

Get more details on the Registration Benefits page

So there is no excuse for not trying one of these tools now! As always, your comments are appreciated.