I'm treading very lightly here, because I know I'm WAY out of my league. I'm a mechanically inclined person who had some programing classes in college. Specifically, Basic and Fortran, and I dibbled with the programming capabilities of my HP-41 and 48; enough to pique my interest in programming, and learn that I enjoy it. A few years out of college (when I finally had some money) I bought VB 3.0 personal edition. I've played with it some over the years and it still runs fine on my XP machines.

I'm considering trying to re-learn everything I've forgotten and before I do, I was wondering if I should upgrade. I found V6.0 for sale in the mid $200's and noticed VB.net. Whattheheckisthat?

How does VB.net compare to the Visual Basic that I've used before? What advantages would V6.0 give me for $200 plus? (in answering, remember that my programming is for fun, not professional; nor am I astute with it).

Where does Visual Studio fit into any of this? Is it a consideration for me, or is it a totally different animal?

I've been out of it so long until I'm almost embarrassed to ask these questions, so please go easy on me.

Thanks!
BelchFire