With Visual Studio 2015, which went RTM on July 20, there's a full featured community edition for non-enterprise use, so no need to apply for any special programs if you're a hobbyist developer. I'm really excited about .NET 5 and DNX (.NET Execution Environment). You'll be able to develop and deploy native cross-platform apps to Windows, Linux, and OS/X--no runtime installation needed. MS has really embraced open source as well, which is a refreshing change (.NET 5 is open source, as is a lot of VS 2015 itself, including the Roslyn compiler).
About Windows 10, my favorite features are:
- return of the start menu, better than ever with resizing and live tiles.
- Running Windows Universal apps (formerly Metro/Modern) as regular resizable, overlappable Windows. The joke I heard from the build conference is that 8 should have been named Window 8.
- Virtual desktops available natively, and keyboard shortcuts to navigate them.
- New Microsoft Edge standards-based browser to jettison all the legacy Internet Exploder B.S.. It'll be nice for Chrome to have some real competition again, since Google is feeling kind of dictatorial these days.
- (Best of all) Breaking from the monolithic periodic release model, and instead continuously releasing feature enhancements through Windows update.
What I've read about the pricing is it will be free for the first year to those licensed for Windows 7 and up. If you're building a new PC you'll need to buy it (OEM version, at least), as would those wanting to upgrade after the first year or from an older version of Windows. There is supposed to be a way to do a clean install with the free upgrade version of 10. I think you need to get your upgrade code, then use that while clean installing.
It really feels like a new, agile Microsoft these days, and I hope their new strategies really pay off for them and consumers.