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Please note:
1. Prior to the existence of the free Toolkit compiler,
there was no supported method for building Python with a
free compiler. It's sad (and annoying) that MS withdrew the
compiler version just as support was added to Python, but
it's just a reversion to the prior situation.
2. Building extensions is a separate issue, which is more
related to the compiler used to build the official binaries
than to what options exist for building Python for yourself.
3. If you want to build extensions for Python, you can use
mingw (gcc) as well as MSVC. This has been supported for a
long time now.
4. Mingw does not currently support linking with
msvcr80.dll, so if the official Python build moves to VC8,
we will lose the option of building extensions with mingw.
Therefore, I see no advantage to switching the official
builds to VC8, in terms of extension building. You gain VC
2005 Express as an option, but lose mingw. As mingw is a
long-established option, you in effect lose because you've
gone from a well-tested option to a new, relatively untried one.