Paul Graham: Microsoft is Dead

In Paul Graham's recent article Microsoft is Dead he explains why Microsoft is becoming irrelevant to start-ups. He argues that more and more start-ups are not even considering what Microsoft is doing and don't consider Microsoft as a possible partner/investor/buyer of their company.

I also imagine that many recent, especially Web 2.0, start-ups also don't use Microsoft 's development tools and platforms.

Also see his clarification Microsoft is Dead: The Cliffs Notes.

Microsoft SDKs for Robotics and Games.

Microsoft has the following free SDKs available for student and hobby programmers:

• Visual Studio 2005 Express
• XNA Game Studio Express
• Robotics Studio