>Isn't Microsoft in the business to make money?

Of course. That's why they sell us tools that are 'almost' good enough, and then offer additional stuff to fill the gaps at additional cost. If VS2008/2010 is supposed to be a tool for building apps including WPF, then it ought to do the job properly.

I don't insist that VS makes coffee, but if MS sells it claiming it's a tool for doing that, then it ought to do it without my having to buy another MS program or subscription to get it done right.

>
>It comes with some MSDN subscriptions.
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>>And costs another $600.00 US. Great.