Where did you read this article? If it's online, could you post the URL?

The API isn't going anywhere, unless Microsoft revises their OS's. API dll's don't ship with Visual Basic, they aren't an add-on or an afterthought. These are the guts of the windows operating system. This is the same code that windows uses to do it's thing, made available to all of us. (Isn't Microsoft swell?)

It is entirely possible that VB.net is providing a new/different way to access the API dll's. (I haven't read much on it) I *hope* that they maintain reverse-compatibility with the declare statement.