I can't see the time required to install the development tools as an important issue. Especially when you consider the effort required to locate and obtain a legal copy of VB6 today.

I think there is evidence that a lot of newbies are using pirated versions of VB6. We see a number of "portable VB" questions for example.

The "Express" SKUs are free, making VB.Net a more obvious choice.


An experienced programmer interested in creating software somebody will use is another matter. A lot of these people would be better off with Small Basic.