The Last (big) Microsoft Launch

A slew of new Microsoft programs launched with a lot of conspiracy theories to boot (not a big surprise, eWeek has turned into little more than just a Microsoft bahing community) but the rest of the playa haters have concluded this will be the last Microsoft big product launch. I wonder what they will talk about in a little less than a year from now when Microsoft Windows Vista launches with the record marketing budget for a software product?

Not that Microsoft doesn’t deserve a fair bit of criticism for releasing a product they fully knew was not up to the quality standards, but at some point you have to sit back and look at the big picture: This is a new platform and the first major big release in half a decade that transforms how we store, manage and manipulate data. Microsoft has committed to the shorter release timelines and is giving away a lot of its software for free to encourage development (look below) but I don’t think most of this will be enough to convince the people that make their living off whining and complaining. For the rest of us professionals in the IT world, here is some stuff to enjoy:

Microsoft has launched a series of free development software “Lightweight, easy-to-use, and easy-to-learn tools for the hobbyist, novice, and student developer” and they are up there free of charge:

Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition: Productivity that is ideal for first time or casual Windows programming.

Visual C# 2005 Express Edition: A great combination of power and productivity for the Windows developer.

Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition: Horsepower with a finer degree of control than other Express Editions.

Visual J# 2005 Express Edition: Ideal for those with prior Java-language experience or learning the Java language.

… and for us web monkeys:

Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition: An ideal environment for dynamic Web development.

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition: A powerful and easy-to-use database to complement each Express Edition.

All the development tools will remain free for one year, while SQL Server 2005 Express Edition will remain free without time limitations. Yes, you can use them all for commercial purposes, there is no academic restriction to them at all.