Learning to program and building web applications is just fun in itself, but with the poor economy and high unemployment rates I have a feeling there may be a lot of people looking for a career change or to pick up additional skills.
If you find yourself wanting to learn how to program or build websites using Microsoft technology, you may want to head on over to the new Beginner Developer Learning Center on Microsoft's Developer Network ( MSDN ). It has links to help you get the software you will need as well as a number of tutorials that will walk you through one of 4 tracks:
- Web Track: Learn HTML, CSS, Javascript, ASP.NET, etc. to get you started on learning web development.
- Windows Track: Learn how to build Windows Application and Utilities in Visual Basic or C#.
- Aspiring Professional: Ways to take that new found knowledge to the next level
- Kid's Corner: Get your kids started early on programming and web development.
For those budding web developer's, I also recommend you at least take a peek at the WebsiteSpark Program as well, which gives you access to more professional grade tools for development and deployment.
Best Wishes!
David Hayden