The .NET runtime usually comes pre-installed on all machines above Windows 7. It's just that if your app needs some advanced feature, you need to upgrade runtime version in those cases, this is pretty much how other runtime based systems like Java and Python also work.

Most people who stayed with win32 for long were C programmers who preferred the "purist way". But those who wanted developer productivity soon switched to the frameworks of .NET, Java, Python, etc.

.NET runtime comes pre-installed since Windows XP.

Also many of us already in the 16 bit days would rather use C++ frameworks than raw C.

One really needs to be quite masochist to use pure C in Windows.

nah, windows 7 maybe, but I definitely have memories of people having to install ".NET 3.5 runtime" all the time on XP

Moving goalposts?

So no longer .NET, rather .NET version XYZ.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework_version_history

=> NET Framework 1.0 is an integral component of Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Installation CDs for the Home edition and the Professional edition of Windows XP SP1, SP2 or SP3 come with .NET Framework 1.0 installation packages.

I'm not really trying to prove anything, I jsut remember that at the time, doing something with windows forms was a guarantee of getting people saying "ah it tells me i have to download .NET"