VS.NET 2003 and above are (in my opinion) only really useful if
- you've made the jump to .NET (C#, VB.NET, or ASP.NET)
- you have no more dependency on old VC++6 CRuntime

I develop extension DLLs for an app developed with VC++6 and made the mistake of trying to move my VC++6 projects to VS.NET 2003.

I learned the hard way that the C-runtimes are incompatible if you are allocating memory in your DLL (built with VS.NET) and giving it back to the app (built with VC++6) that loads your DLL, since you're simultaneously using two versions of the C-runtime. Crash and burn time!

Also... learned the hard way that once you upgrade a development machine from VC6 to VS.NET, you really can't go back - your machine will be hosed if you attempt to revert.

Anyhoo... I like the new interface and am waiting for the day that I can kick VC6 to the curb and get the better-threaded STL, nicer UI, etc.

SM