Q:

What exactly is .Net?

Don't get me wrong, I've read about it. But I dont exactly understand what it is. In a previous thread I talked about wanting to learn more GUI based stuff. C# and (WPF or w/e it's called) seemed to be the best option for a newbie. But then people mentioned .net. Is that like a new language?
How exactly does it integrate with C# and WPF and such? 
Also completely off topic. Is C# even being used much anymore? Or has it kind of been going downhill?

A:

.net is a framework and NO C# is moving forward.
Have a loo at .NET Framework

The Microsoft .NET Framework is a
  software framework for Microsoft
  Windows operating systems. It includes
  a large library, and it supports
  several programming languages which
  allows language interoperability (each
  language can utilize code written in
  other languages.) The .NET library is
  available to all the programming
  languages that .NET supports.
The framework's Base Class Library
  provides user interface, data access,
  database connectivity, cryptography,
  web application development, numeric
  algorithms, and network
  communications. The class library is
  used by programmers, who combine it
  with their own code to produce
  applications.
Programs written for the .NET
  Framework execute in a software (as
  contrasted to hardware) environment,
  known as the Common Language Runtime
  (CLR). The CLR is an application
  virtual machine so that programmers
  need not consider the capabilities of
  the specific CPU that will execute the
  program. The CLR also provides other
  important services such as security,
  memory management, and exception
  handling. The class library and the
  CLR together constitute the .NET
  Framework.

