>There is only one thing that doesn't fit with this line of thought ...
>currently, the .NET framework is free. We also know that MS is
>pushing .NET unmercifully ... they want it to take off BAD. What happens
>if they do succeed and then, when .NET is 80% of all MS based corporate >development (arbitrary number selected by me) they implement a pricing
>structure on the UPGRADES to the .NET framework.

I think you are looking at this wrong. The SDK is FREE, the VS.Net is 100% NOT free. I think MS are happy knowing that any professional developer will virtually have to buy VS.Net to be productive (or at least one of the competing IDEs available) and allow students etc. to continue using the SDK and tools like WebMatrix (www.asp.net) free of charge (just to get them addicted to it).

This is exactly the same as what SUN does with Java - Free SDK but VERY expensive IDEs. And I don't think we will ever see Microsoft charging for the Runtime itself, that would be the equivalent of them making us pay to redistribute vfp6r.dll etc.

Chris Ormerod