Looks like someone was listening to me 
The Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition products are now available for free download, and will be for 1 year. If you download it now your copy will not expire. They’ve promised 1 year of free downloads, but I’m hoping that after 1 year they’ll decide just to keep them free (heck, I think they should be on the Windows disc to begin with!).
Oh, and SQL Server Express Edition is FREE and will always be free.
