Found an article on here( I always seem to find things just after I've stopped looking for them, or when I'm looking for something else) Sending Files using TCP[^] This should be enough to get me going.

so that I can send audio samples to my mate. It needs to be able to handle large files, most likely <4GB. I'll probably be using a client/server approach, but I haven't done much beyond basic network programming. What I'd really like to know is what protocol and which .NET libraries I should use? I've looked at a few books to try and get an overview, and the most obvious candidate is ftp, but all I've found is how to connect to an existing ftp server, and not how to program one. I'd also like a few recommendations for some good networking books, preferably .NET focused, although I would also appreciate some more general networking books that go into some detail about networking protocols.

I'm in the same boat, and I'm as worried about stigma as you are. Plus I've got the added burden of having no commercial experience. The economic meltdown won't help my chances either.

I've recently completed my MCAD. I also have a CIW Site Designer cert, and am looking for a job. The problem is I have no experience, so I am stuck in the no experience->no job->no experience vicious circle. Any advice on how I can escape this trap?

Microsoft are retiring the MCAD/MCSD March next year. I remember a poll on here about which version of the .NET framework developers are targeting. The majority said 2.0. I have an MCAD and wish to upgrade it to a higher qualification, and I feel that going for an MCSD would be a bit of a wasted effort as it targets 1.1 and will soon be obsolete. Many jobs I have seen require experience with 2.0 or higher. If I go with the MCSD, I fear that version 4.0 of the .NET framework will come out by the time I've done it. So I'm thinking I will upgrade to an MCPD to catch up a bit. Any thoughts on this?

When did Microsoft last give away Visual Studio? How about Visual Studio 2008 Express editions. :)