This is for the programmers out there. Want to get started programming on Windows? Cannot afford buying Microsoft’s expensive development suite? Don’t think open source as alternatives?

Microsoft might have heard your cry! Yes, it wasn’t an illusion. Microsoft is now offering the express editions of its line of Visual Studio products absolutely free through MSDN, which had an initial price tag of USD$49.

You get to choose from its Web Developer edition, or languages like Visual Basic, C#, C++ or J#, download directly from MSDN website.

There’s also SQL Server 2005 Express Edition for free as well, and they are not limited to personal use — use them in a production site or your commercial software if you wish.

Free offer expires in November 2006. Meanwhile — happy coding :)