Conclusion
With MSDE, Microsoft has given database developers a clear migration strategy: develop with MSDE and upgrade to SQL Server if necessary. You no longer need to guess ahead of time whether an Access database will have the horsepower you need to drive your application. If you decide you need to pump up the volume, you can simply install SQL Server and get back to work rather than starting a total rewrite.
For more information on using databases with VB.NET, see my book Visual Basic .NET Database Programming (Que, 2002, http://www.vb-helper.com/vbdb.htm).