Acknowledgments

Sams Publishing deserves much of the credit for this book. After buying into my idea for a book targeted at helping VB6 developers move to VB .NET, Shelley Kronzek, the executive editor, asked me to write a 200-page version of the book in three weeks, which Sams would distribute for free. That book has been handed out to and downloaded by more than 70,000 people, and the number continues to climb every day.

This is the full realization of the book. Shelley Kronzek provided the prodding, and final kick, needed to see the book through to fruition. Kevin Howard, the development editor, has been great at keeping the process moving and helping make the book better, by catching many of my mistakes. Mike Henry made sure my English teachers felt that I had learned what they taught me. Carol Bowers, the Project Editor, made sure I always had a chapter or two to review and kept us all on schedule. I know there are many others at Sams without whom this book would not have been possible.

Boyd Nolan acted as the technical editor again, and I appreciate his efforts and respect his abilities. Every suggestion resulted in improvements to the book. Special thanks to Chris Payne, who jumped in and provided critical support at crunch time.

Just as I couldn't have done this without help from the team at Sams, Microsoft provided invaluable support. Ari Bixhorn and Ed Robinson answered many questions and put me in touch with a host of people on the VB .NET team. Susan Warren was absolutely fantastic at answering my questions within minutes. To all those who helped, thanks for taking the time while also working hard to get Visual Studio .NET out the door.

Having this book as the second version means that I got great feedback from the first, smaller edition. Thanks to Walter Scrivens, William Corry, John Beresford, Cindy Kee, and Stephanie DiMaggio, five readers of the first book who took the time to offer feedback, comments, and encouragement. I enjoy teaching people how to use technology, and feedback on any ways to improve that teaching are always appreciated.

Despite all the reviews done by various people, any mistakes in this book are strictly mine.