Microsoft announced two new services for developers that will be delivered for free over the Internet. The services, announced at the TechEd conference in Orlando, Florida, include the Microsoft Developer Network Online Membership and the Intranet Solutions Center. The point of these new services is to provide developers with free information so that they can more easily build applications for Windows.
The Intranet Solutions Center (ISC) is a free Web site that helps developers with corporate intranet applications. The site includes almost 50 sample intranet applications, technical support and whitepapers, case studies, and links to other related Web sites. A CD version of the site is also available that includes trial versions of Windows NT 4.0 Server, IIS 3.0, SQL Server 6.5, Exchange Server 5.0, and Microsoft Outlook.
The Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Online Membership is a Web site designed for developers who want free access to application development information. The site includes lots of information from the service's extensive library of sample code, documentation, news, free software, and third-party information and tools.
During the announcement of the new services, Microsoft mentioned that Visual Basic and Visual C++ had record revenues in March and April. A survey conducted by Market Decisions of Portland, Oregon has determined that 53% of all developers use Visual Basic, 24% use C++, and 6% use Java
