My question is why do I need to set up an account for the 'Dev Essentials program' and am not able to simply download the software? Does the reason include needing to assign an id to the people who download an older version? Also I am looking for an answer that includes any information about the program itself, your experience with it, and any benefits of linking it to my account. Step 5 - Choose individual components (optional) Step 6 - Install language packs (optional) Step 7 - Select the installation location (optional) Step 8 - Start developing. This subscription replaces the Office 365 E3 developer subscription that we made available starting in March 2018. Step 2 - Determine which version and edition of Visual Studio to install. However on the page it says to 'Select a product below and click on the download button to log in to your Visual Studio (MSDN) subscription or join the free Dev Essentials program, to gain access to the older versions.' Starting in September 2019, all new members of the Microsoft 365 Developer Program (including Visual Studio Professional and Enterprise subscribers) can sign up for a Microsoft 365 E5 developer subscription (Windows not included). The link from the book, now redirects to but after using the search bar to look for 2010 version I am directed to where the download I need is available and shown.

I am following along with a book that requires me to have a previous version of Visual Studio (2010).

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