Sorry ... Not "Free Forever" After All

I knew I used the caption "cheap tricks" in the graphic for the blog announcing "free" Visual Basic and SQL Server for a good reason. I really did quiz quite a number of Microsoft employees on the floor of the product launch in San Francisco. An answer I typically got was, "How could we ever charge for something after we have been giving it away free?" And the answer to that is, "Microsoft has a way of arranging it so that no leaf falls in the forest that doesn't add profit their bottom line.

But I have something a bit more accountable now and I need to get this revised information to you. Microsoft DOES reserve the right to start charging, at least for Visual Studio Express, after one year. Here's the exact text of an announcement made in the Microsoft Forum:

Visual Studio Express is free for one year

Until November 7, 2006, we are promotionally discounting the downloadable versions of Express to free. This doesn’t mean that the product turns off after a year, but rather that as long as you download the product before November 7, 2006, you can get it for free and you can use it forever.

Dan Fernandez
Product Manager

I apologize for the error.