If you're like me, you probably couldn't code your way out of a paper bag, and the extent of your programming abilities are getting a computer to display "Hello World!" in a terminal window.  Finding out what to learn, where to go for help, what books to read etc. makes the prospect of self-teaching something as complex as computer programming pretty daunting.  Well, MSDN has recently launched a site with the novice coder in mind. 

The Beginner Development Learning Center site has tracks for learners interested in either web of windows application coding, and provides three tiers of learning for each track to cater to beginners of various experience.  If you have zero coding knowledge, they start you off at the bottom and lead you through the basics.

The site has a "for kids" tone to it, but if you're just starting out with coding, it's probably just as well.  You can also download free versions of Visual Studio to do the hands-on exercises.