Attention Wannabe Developers: Microsoft Calling

There is nothing to lose and learning to gain at Microsoft's Beginner Developer Learning Center. The Beginner Developer Learning Center is formatted for beginning programmers, starting with the basics with step-by-step lessons to become "a fully-fledged developer!"

Select between or both Web Development and Windows Development, divided between three tiers. There is even a "Kids Corner", which I may consider.

Tier 1 Lessons are a great place to start if you're brand-new to programming. Most of these lessons don't assume any prior software development knowledge and will take the time to introduce basic concepts.

Tier 2 Lessons assume you understand the foundations of .NET development. These lessons will proceed at a faster pace, and cover a lot of the core concepts of Windows and Web development. By the end of these lessons, you should be able to create a basic, working application!

Tier 3 Lessons follow up on the skills learned in Tier 2. These lessons expand your knowledge of Windows and Web development with more advanced concepts such as data access and debugging. If you finish the Tier 3 lessons, Congratulations – you've graduated from the Beginner Developer Learning Center and can officially call yourself a Software Developer!

By way of Mary Jo Foley.