Retrieve via HTTP + 2 newbie Qs

Hi guys,

I'm brand new to this forum, and to the .NET framework in general.

I build a lot of web-based stuff (in PHP/MYSQL, mainly), and I wanted to make the leap to the Windows programming world to create a series of applications that interface with my web sites.

One of the things I do with PHP is create XML documents that syndicate content across websites. This is very easy to do with PHP -- you just do an fopen() command to retrieve the body of a website, and parse the XML code.

I would like to build an app that sits in a user's system tray, and offers the same kind of features but bypasses the web browser altogether.

So, in doing that, I have a few very basic questions that I would really appreciate if I could find an answer to...

1. I rushed out yesterday to PC World and bought the Visual Basic .NET Standard Edition 2003 "Deluxe Learning Kit", that came with a book and the Standard version of the software.

My 1st Q is, is this version really enough? Or should I be using something more powerful, like the Pro version? What are the biggest differences?

2. Can you recommend a few articles/books that documentation specifically how to interface Windows apps with the web? I don't want to create an ASP.NET server-based model. I can already do everything I need for the web, using PHP (which I've spent 6 years with)... I just need to create Windows apps that interface with HTTP/HTTPS.

3. Can someone please provide a short snippet of sample code that would allow me to connect to any website, and download the body of the page? It doesn't matter what it is. I just need to see how easy it is to perform the actual connection and retrieval. Even if you can only provide an external resource where this is documented, that would be GREAT.

Thank you kindly!

~John