I've been programming professionally in .net since before it's first official release, and am proud to be an 'early achiever' at MCAD and MCSD certification in Microsoft .Net.
Anyway, enough of that...
If you are thinking about actually finding work with software development in .Net, you need to go C# 100%. There are many, many times more C# jobs than there are in VB. I believe a lot of that is because companies believe a C# developer is more likely to have come from an object-oriented background (i.e. java), and also from the misconception that VB developers just produce garbage code.
If you are learning .Net for your own sake and never plan to use it to find a job, then it doesn't matter whether you choose VB.net or C#.net. It is all a matter of personal preference.
I personally came to .Net development as a career decision, coming from a basic background. I'd been working as a basic developer for MANY years, so I really struggled with the decision to go with C# instead of vb.net. I got awards in the 1980s for software developed in Microsoft's Basic PDS (Professional Development System) - anybody remember that? Then I did some development in GFA basic, and every version of MS Visual Basic that has ever come out.
So anyway, my decision to move to C# was career-based. I still do some development in VB.Net on a contract now and then, but those are very rare and far between. The move from VB6 to C# was not really very difficult, and C# was easy to learn. I did have to struggle through growing pains with such things as case sensitivity, but now it's second nature and I prefer it.
Book recommendations (whether or not these would be good choices depend on what you decide to do with .Net) -
Pro Asp.Net 2.0 in C# 2005
Pro C# 2005 and the .Net 2.0 Platform
Pro .Net 2.0 Graphics Programming
Asp.net 2.0 MVP Hacks and Tips
Asp.net 2.0 Website Programming Problem - Design - Solution
Head First Design Patterns
About the Design Patterns book - the source code in the book is in java, but it is still my recommendation for learning patterns. There are a couple of design patterns books with code in C#, but they are not well written IMHO.
The C# code for the Head First Design Patterns book can be found at -
http://www.msquaredweb.com/DesignPatterns/
Mark.
Anyway, enough of that...
If you are thinking about actually finding work with software development in .Net, you need to go C# 100%. There are many, many times more C# jobs than there are in VB. I believe a lot of that is because companies believe a C# developer is more likely to have come from an object-oriented background (i.e. java), and also from the misconception that VB developers just produce garbage code.
If you are learning .Net for your own sake and never plan to use it to find a job, then it doesn't matter whether you choose VB.net or C#.net. It is all a matter of personal preference.
I personally came to .Net development as a career decision, coming from a basic background. I'd been working as a basic developer for MANY years, so I really struggled with the decision to go with C# instead of vb.net. I got awards in the 1980s for software developed in Microsoft's Basic PDS (Professional Development System) - anybody remember that? Then I did some development in GFA basic, and every version of MS Visual Basic that has ever come out.
So anyway, my decision to move to C# was career-based. I still do some development in VB.Net on a contract now and then, but those are very rare and far between. The move from VB6 to C# was not really very difficult, and C# was easy to learn. I did have to struggle through growing pains with such things as case sensitivity, but now it's second nature and I prefer it.
Book recommendations (whether or not these would be good choices depend on what you decide to do with .Net) -
Pro Asp.Net 2.0 in C# 2005
Pro C# 2005 and the .Net 2.0 Platform
Pro .Net 2.0 Graphics Programming
Asp.net 2.0 MVP Hacks and Tips
Asp.net 2.0 Website Programming Problem - Design - Solution
Head First Design Patterns
About the Design Patterns book - the source code in the book is in java, but it is still my recommendation for learning patterns. There are a couple of design patterns books with code in C#, but they are not well written IMHO.
The C# code for the Head First Design Patterns book can be found at -
http://www.msquaredweb.com/DesignPatterns/
Mark.