Microsoft To Shut Down TechNet Subscription Service 280
otaku244 writes "Since 1998, Microsoft TechNet has been a mainstay for all system developers attached to the Microsoft platform, given the ease of access to almost every product the company has produced. Unfortunately, the days of a cheap, unlimited Microsoft development stack are coming to an end."
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:5, Informative)
Some of us like to create test labs that will outlast the 30-180 day expiration date associated with MS evaluation periods (such as with SQL Server or BizTalk). An MSDN susbscription is more expensive than TechNet by the order of several magnitude.
I'm not sure what's going on with MS these days. They release a monstrosity of a desktop OS (Win8), a sub-par hermaphrodite laptop/tablet to go with it (Surface), and they are now giving their loyal developers the finger.
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:5, Informative)
MSDN subscriptions are at least 3x the cost of a TechNet subscription. The point of the TechNet was that you were not a developer, you were an integration tester.
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:5, Informative)
Visual Studio and other products have free versions now, so TechNet subscription is mostly outdated service. Visual Studio Express is the same great product that the full version of Visual Studio is, but is great for beginners. Visual Studio as a whole is a great product too. And, MSDN subscription is there too.
Visual Studio 2013 Preview [microsoft.com] just came out of the oven, too.
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:5, Informative)
TechNet was never for developers. It was for sys admins/IT professionals.
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:5, Informative)
Here in New Zealand, MSDN Ultimate is $26,369.00.
Better to fly first-class to the U.S. and pick one up for half the price. Understandably we're a little sour about it!
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Whatever happened to... (Score:3, Informative)
TechNet wasn't for developers as it didn't include things like Visual Studio.
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:5, Informative)
They release a monstrosity of a desktop OS (Win8), a sub-par hermaphrodite laptop/tablet to go with it (Surface), and they are now giving their loyal developers the finger.
Technet subscriptions are not allowed to be used for software development and testing purposes per the EULA.
Technet subscriptions are for IT administrators, training, evaluation, and proof of concept.
MSDN subscriptions are for development, testing, and demonstration, per the EULA, and not allowed to be used for training/evaluation.
I wonder if they are just going to combine the two?
Re: This is mostly outdated service (Score:5, Informative)
The NSA-provided SELinux patches are optional, were added in version 2.6 of the kernel and yes, they have been thoroughly vetted by a number of different organisations.
There's no such thing as zero possibility, so no, not absolutely sure. But it's close.
On the other hand, it's proven that Microsoft is a collaborator. My choice is clear.
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:5, Informative)
This is a serious drag, especially for contractors/consultants, small shops, and MS developers of all kinds
This. I set up an entire lab where I used to work using TechNet, mirroring the production environment so we could test MS Updates and other software updates before we let them loose on the corporate desktops. We even used it to test the changes the developers would port from their dev systems before we put them on the production systems.
When I left that company, I used my own TechNet subscription to test deployments before I would go to a client site. I kept up on my skills and learned new ones using the subscription, even doing an entire MS Dynamics deployment on my network at home before installing it for a client. My TecnNet subscription added value to my work. I will be looking for some sort of replacement, because I know I the value it gave me. I just think Microsoft doesn't realize the value of letting a consultant learn their products in depth at their own pace.
Re:This is mostly outdated service (Score:3, Informative)
There's this thing called 'Google', it's a search engine. It pulls together a wealth of knowledge and allows you to 'search' through it, often in the time it takes you to type a reply to a comment in Slashdot.
Here's an example URL showing MSDN prices that I found from 'Google':
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/buy.aspx
If you visit that 'link' and change the country code to 'New Zealand' it will bring up prices.
Visual Studio Ultimate with MSDN is $26,369.00
United states price is $13,299.00, which is around $17,000 New Zealand Dollars. That's a NZD$9k+ difference, for NOTHING extra, costing Microsoft NOTHING more to provide.
Summery: You get fucked in the ass by Microsoft outside the US of A