MSDN NZ - Explore Desktop, Web, Cloud, and Phone Software Development

Platforms

Windows development is the process of writing software that will run on standard computers including your desktop, laptop, or general purpose computer. Windows applications can take full advantage of a computer's power.

Metro style apps
Desktop apps
Hardware

Web

Web development is the process of writing a web page or site. Web pages are written with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These pages can be simple text and graphics that resemble a document, or can be interactive. Interactive server pages are a little more complex to write, but they enable richer web sites.

Internet Explorer Developer Center
Silverlight Developer Center
ASP.NET MVC
ASP.NET Web Forms

Windows Azure

Windows Azure and SQL Azure enable you to build, host and scale applications in Microsoft datacenters. They require no up-front expenses, no long term commitment, and enable you to pay only for the resources you use.

Get Started with Windows Azure
Windows Azure Learning Resources
Microsoft SQL Azure
Windows Azure Free Trial

Windows Phone

Windows Phone development is similar to Windows development, but with a different device at its core. To simplify development, many developers initially run, debug, and test their applications in an emulator on their desktop machine.

Windows Phone App Hub
Windows Phone Development QuickStarts
Development for Absolute Beginners
Windows Phone 'Mango' Training Course

Tools