Microsoft extends tool giveaway

Microsoft has decided to continue indefinitely a free development tool offer it launched last year to better attract hobbyists and students to Microsoft’s software.

The company on Wednesday said Visual Studio 2005 Express will be free permanently. When it was released for the first time, last November, Microsoft had said it would be free for a year.

The software giant on Wednesday also detailed a number of partnerships to provide informational resources, including snippets of source code, to nonprofessional developers.

For example, Microsoft has created an application with Lego to program the company’s Mindstorm buildable robots. Microsoft is also providing tips to part-time developers to do things such as programming digital cameras, said Dan Fernandez, lead product manager for Visual Studio Express.

“There is a resurgence in hobbyist and do-it-yourself developers,” Fernandez said. “We want to enable the next generation of developers.”

Read more: CNET News.com