Yea, VB Express 2008 has 99% of what most programmers need. The only advantage you get with a paid edition is Crystal Reports and Setup Projects, and even those are arguable. You can just buy Crystal Reports separately (you'd get a newer version anyways); or one of the alternative reporting packages, like the DevExpress one, and there are alternatives to setup projects, such as ClickOnce and InnoSetup; which are also both free.