>>If you read between the lines of this screed it is clear the only news is choices will become limited for free version users of Visual Studio

For me, the issue isn't whether a developer should pay a one time cost for a fancy compiler and IDE- of course that's a legitimate cost.
As I see it, MS is doing everything it can to get people use its app plaftorm so that it can generate recurring revenue there.
That irks me.
I balk at the notion of having MS, Apple, Amazon, or anyone else involved everytime I publish an application for a client.
It's odious to me and I can't see how something that noxious will stand up over time.
Technically, it makes no sense to add non productive layers to a process, and that's what's going on here.
Compuserve, AOL, Yahoo etc were in that position for quite a while and eventually technology blew them away.
I assume that someone will figure a better way to get content to mobile devices and that will be a key turning point for developers,