.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.
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.