You are going to need a copy of XP Pro. for starters. As previously mentioned, you can't do IIS development on XP Home without hacking it a bit. Maybe you can check with your employer... do they have an MSDN subscription? Or can they spring for a copy of XP Pro and or dev tools in the deal somehow? You never know if you don't ask. If not, then I would start with the MS Express Editions of VS 2005 and SQL Server 2005. http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/default.aspx They will have everything you need to get up and running in the short term. If you need more IDE grunt, order/download a [free] 180 day trial of VS 2005 Pro, during which you can develop your website, and in the process be saving up to shell out some $'s for a legit version to then deliver your final product at the end of your dev cycle. All depends on how you are being paid... on delivery, at certain milestones along the way, or by hourly rate etc... If you are really desperate, you can do the same with your OS... download a 180 day Windows 2003 Server trial direct from Microsofts site. In some ways, if the customer is going to deploy to this OS, then you might do better to be developing on it too! As for the working from home setup, I've been doing it for about 8 months. I have 4 kids ranging in age from 4yrs to 13 yrs. It can be tough during school holidays to stop the distractions, but I'm lucky cos my wife is a [predominantly] a stay at home mum. She works 1.5 days a week, during which time I have my 4yr old at home and I just try to manage as best I can... thank heavens for dvds! The hardest things i find, is just the discipline thing. Some days I do well, other days not so good. But that's just life, and the way it is. Some days in an office you have both good and bad days productivity wise. The only catch when working at home is it's easier to have that bad one, if you let it happen, becuase it's a much less rigid/structured environment. Try to get into a routine if you can, I find that works well for me. I also like working late into the night/morning when the kids are in bed. My wife will be relaxing watching some TV or reading and I'll sneak off to my office - it works for us. :o) Overall though, nothing beats working from home. I love it. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Best of Luck.