Visual Studio 2005 Express is free!
And to think that all this time, Microsoft has been offering Visual Studio 2005 Express for free! If downloaded before Nov 6th, 2006, there’s no licencing fee.
Visual studio express is described as “Easy to learn tools for hobbyists, students and novice developers”.
FAQ says: We originally announced pricing of Visual Studio Express at US$49. We are now offering Visual Studio Express for free, as a limited-in-time promotional offer, until November 6, 2006.
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as long as you download Visual Studio Express on or before November 7th 2006, you will not have to pay for it.