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Also, if you're diving into .NET, I highly recommend looking at C#...it is a *very* nice language, AND it was designed specifically for working with the .NET Framework. Other languages such as VB.NET and C++ carry a bit of syntax "baggage" as compared to C#.
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What do you mean by this? How is the VB .NET language "less" specifically designed to work with the .NET framework?

As for syntax "baggage", if you say things like Dim is a left over relic of pre .NET VB, I will counter with the fact that you have to terminate lines in C# with semi colons and the need for curly braces as well.

With VB .NET, you can define a read/write property with 1 line of code. i.e., it is optional to use let/set property procedures in VB. In C#, they are required.

If anything, VB .NET is more declarative - and for that reason, it may be a perferable alternative in many cases. In other scenarios, C# might be the right choice.

To reject VB .NET as a per se rule, which you are doing here, completely misses the point that the power is in the framework and that the languages today do little more than implement the framework.

IMO, many jump on the C# bandwagon because it has the letter "C" in it - and for this reason, the belief that it confers a measure of credibility that VB does not. To make this argument is specious at best...