>After reading this discussion I will get into .NET using ASP.NET and C#. I believe my knowledge of C and Javascript can help me to learn and get used to it more quickly

Here's a good way to start:

http://www.aspfree.com/QuickStart/howto/default.aspx?url=/quickstart/howto/doc/languages.aspx

This page gives you a side by side comparison of VB.NET, C#, and JScript.NET. Take a look at all the differences in the langagues, and if one really grabs you more than another, choose that.

>I had also been thinking in learning Java and entering the Open Source world as an alternative to .NET ... do you think this is a good alternative?

Hard to tell what will be the most successfull this early, but my guess is, either platform will do what you want it to do. Right now, Microsoft's tools are ahead of the game, but since Sun ONE is on the horizon you can't be sure. And then there's Borland's offerings. Delphi 6 is supposed to wok with both .NET and ONE, and have a compatible codebase with Kylix, which is like Delphi for Linux.