It’s good. Read on.  

There’s been a tension for a while between the MDSN AA and DreamSpark licensing in that the EULA for the developer tools distributed under these programs doesn’t allow for commercial usage. So you can never get rich selling that Grannie Knows Best recipe program you’ve been working on for years.

That’s just changed with the release of the Windows Phone 7 developer tools.  Here’s how it works -

1. Download the free developer tools from http://developer.windowsphone.com/  This is all goodness, and I’ll explore more soon, but it looks like VS2010 express + Windows Phone Silverlight extensions + XNA 4.0 (targeting Windows, Xbox 360, and Windows Phone 7 Series). 

2. Next register for the marketplace - https://developer.windowsphone.com/Signup-Create-Account.aspx.

Sign in with your WLID (yada yada) – you’ll then be able to set your account as a Student account – so use the same WLID you use for DreamSpark, uh-huh?

And no, Mobile Marketplace isn’t available in all countries.  Sorry.

3. Set up your profile – you’ll need to pick a publisher name and it’s important to read the tax information carefully here. It made my head hurt, but you need to register to obtain a US tax code. 

4. Done. Go build stuff while you’re still a student.

Andy