@dxw00d I don't that only Microsoft can comment on what the program is intended for. The few soft obligations do not cost any money, the product is free. I get many emails of thanks each week from the many users who are enjoying the free software and finding their Arduino coding to be much more fun. Some people have even blogged about it all so it is free and they are very happy.
In the last year Microsoft has relaxed the rules, previously we had to be considering a career in web design to gain Visual Studio and 1000's of dollars of extra software for free. The new rules are quite clear and can be found here (the eligibility statement from Microsoft)
Who is eligible for WebsiteSpark?
To be eligible for WebsiteSpark, you must meet one of the following criteria at the time of joining:
Company: A privately held professional service firm whose primary business is providing Web development and design services for its clients and has no more than 10 members, which includes owners and employees (maximum of 25 members for Brazil, China, India, and Japan),
or
Individual: An individual that does not have his/her own company and/or does not work for a web design or development company.
BUT let me be even clearer that this is a free offer open to all. Back in November 2011 Microsoft decided to blog about the Arduino plugin for Visual Studio. In the comments of the blog I openly raised the point that Visual Studio can be downloaded for free. You can read the blog and the discussion on the Microsoft Codeing4Fun Blog Shows | Microsoft Learn.
Microsofts Blog Title: Visual Studio 2008/2010 and Arduino? Yep!
While I don't usually highlight Arduino related projects, since there's often little Microsoft relation, I saw this and knew I had to post on it... I mean how much more Microsoft can you get!
A complete Arduino development system for Visual Studio 2008 and 2010
From my point of view I am very happy that this free solution is available to everyone. There is no cost to signing up and getting this software and there is nothing hidden or underhand about what we are doing. This solution helps so many people learn and program Arduino, I don't know why anyone would be negative about this free solution or why they would try to take this away from the community?