Since I joined DevSource last Fall, I have seen more new and exciting stuff coming from Microsoft than I had in years prior. (I know, that sounds like a marketing comment, but I'm serious.)

Right now is an exciting time to be a developer for Microsoft products, that is for sure. Here's a sampling of some of the exciting things going on, things you probably will want to explore, either through books, websites such as our own DevSource, and, of course, Microsoft's MSDN site:

* .NET 3.0. This is just the beginning. This is an entirely new architecture built on top of .NET 2.0. It includes major parts such as Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), and Windows Workflow Foundation (WW).
* AJAX and related JavaScript and client-side technologies, such as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON).
* SilverLight: Both 1.0 and 1.1. The first, 1.0, is a simple version that allows you to create some pretty cool interactive content. The next, 1.1, is in alpha, and you can soup up your creations with C# and various dynamic languages. Here's the main Silverlight page.
* Dynamic Languages. A lot of newer scripting languages (such as Python) don't fit well with strongly-typed platforms such as .NET. However, that has changed, with an additional layer over .NET that allows for dynamic languages. Here's some more info on it.
* XAML: This is the backing technology behind such technologies as WPF and SilverLight.
* Office 2007: Although this is a set of products, it also offers a lot of new technologies for developers. You can easily create new add-ons for Office 2007, as well as write standalone applications that make use of components found in Office 2007.
* Orcas, LINQ, and other updates to VB and C#. The two main languages for Windows -- VB.NET and C# -- continue to evolve. They now include LINQ technology as well as tons of more features. (Want to try them out? Orcas -- a.k.a. Visual Studio 2008 -- is available for free in Beta form, and the free Express products are already available in Beta form as well, all from here (scroll down to the bottom for the Express editions.)
* And, of course, Vista development.

Exciting times are ahead!