Sam asked if you could build custom task panes with VB.Net Express edition. The simple answer is no. However this question raises a deeper issue.
What are all the options when it comes to extending Excel (or any other office app for that matter). Most of us know about XLA, XLL, DLL, etc but the .Nety stuff is not as well understood. In an attempt to shed some light on all of the options I have tried to make a simple table weighing up the options I’ve also bugged VB6 and Delphi in at the end just to help compare the options.

I should point out that I haven’t even used some of these technologies myself, so I’m not suggesting this is the definitive answer, but I think it’s a fair reflection, and I can tell you that I’ve not be able to find anything else like this on the net, so this is a World Exclusive!!!

Heres the PDF wall chart!!!!