It is a good decision to stick on .Net as a hobbiest becuse of easiness to study .Net Languages. I thinkk C# http://csharp.net-informations.com is the best choice of study becuse of its syntax similarities to Java and C++. Also you can change it later to Java or C++.
Anton.
Oh this one came alive again.
Still Python for "just tinkering". No faff setting up the build process and compiling. Just write some code and run, and it works on anything.
As others have said: c# using Visual Studio Express (and SQL Express if you want to learn TSQL and databases too).
Loads of online resources to help you learn and you can head down any path you like: windows forms, services, web, whatever...
I program in it for a living. If you like it and learn it there's plenty of careers in it too even in these dark days.
I'm a programmer at my day job. If I ever need anything coding up at home, I use Python or VB6. The overhead / complexity of Java and .NET just seem to drain all the enjoyment out of it.
i always liked plain ol' C, probably because the Kernighan & Ritchie book was so good to learn from. Much better than the dismal tomb by Stroustrup.
