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Microsoft ending TechNet subscription activations effective august 2013
J-Mac:
Damn! I just saw the article about this at InfoWorld and was looking to see if anyone else had reported it. (Should have known that 40hz was on top of it!).
Truly a shame. Microsoft claims this is a direct result of piracy - mainly sharing of licenses. Continuing to sell subscriptions is pretty crappy IMO, since they aren't mentioning the extremely short life of what is left of TechNet.
Why aren't we surprised at this behavior?
Oh well... 40hz - prepare yourself for a lot of questions about implementing Linux!
Jim
40hz:
FWIW I think it may only be a short while before they'll only be providing VMs for developer use.
Developers who need the actual software for testing purposes will probably need to sign additional paperwork and submit more frequently to those rare (but very real) onsite compliance audits Microsoft does do from time to time.
The biggest hurdle I can see is that unless you're an MVP, a MSDN subscription is considerably more expensive than TechNet was. Which really hurts small software developers and start-ups.
Right now, my biggest concern is what they might do with MAPS. As a "non-developer" MS Partner, MAPS is an absolutely essential resource for my company. Unfortunately, Microsoft has been dropping some pretty strong hints that they want all of their partners to be involved in software development - so the more traditional 'support & service' companies preferred by SMBs may soon be shown the door. Unless they also develop and sell software that would make a client need to "go Microsoft" in order to run it.
:-\
40hz:
Microsoft claims this is a direct result of piracy - mainly sharing of licenses.
-J-Mac (July 02, 2013, 07:39 AM)
--- End quote ---
Supposedly it was for a number of reasons besides just piracy. And to be blunt, the rules surrounding TechNet software were pretty widely abused by many subscribers.
But I really think it has more to do with a broader long-term goal of pulling actual copies of Microsoft software out of the hands of companies and individuals, and getting everything up into the cloud where it can be more effectively regulated, metered, and billed for. (And, in the wake of recent revelations, monitored by our government as well.)
I think a lot of the motivation is because Microsoft has been unable to convince people that Microsoft products are "licensed not sold." So their customer's perspective is still one that says "possession is 9/10ths of law." And that's despite 30 years of trying to "educate" people otherwise. Most people flat out refuse to accept the notion of 'intellectual property' when they're buying a physical product.
So the simple fix is to not allow customers to get their hands on a copy to begin with. Just allow them to use it. That way there is absolutely no question of who owns what. And many more revenue opportunities to be had because of it.
Oh well... 40hz - prepare yourself for a lot of questions about implementing Linux!
-J-Mac (July 02, 2013, 07:39 AM)
--- End quote ---
It's really not that big a deal. Seriously. It's not.
Grab a copy of Linux Mint's Cinnamon edition (or something similar) and just try using it. It's not much different from Windows. Most people that just use their computer for "productivity" will hardly even notice the difference.
I've booted Mint off a live DVD for non-tech types and told them it was an advanced experimental version of Windows that wasn't due out until 2015. And guess what? Most of them loved it. Raved about how nice it looked, how smooth it felt, how it was great to see a familiar desktop environment again, etc. etc. etc. They'd play around with it for a few minutes and were soon off and running, getting things done.
But if I told them it was Linux first, they'd immediately get confused and convince themselves they couldn't use it.
Interesting, no?
Suggestion: you have nothing to fear but fear itself. Just give it a try. You'll be amazed how far things have progressed in the Linux world - much to Microsoft's chagrin.
8)
J-Mac:
Oh well... 40hz - prepare yourself for a lot of questions about implementing Linux!
-J-Mac (July 02, 2013, 07:39 AM)
--- End quote ---
It's really not that big a deal. Seriously. It's not.
Grab a copy of Linux Mint's Cinnamon edition (or something similar) and just try using it. It's not much different from Windows. Most people that just use their computer for "productivity" will hardly even notice the difference.
I've booted Mint off a live DVD for non-tech types and told them it was an advanced experimental version of Windows that wasn't due out until 2015. And guess what? Most of them loved it. Raved about how nice it looked, how smooth it felt, how it was great to see a familiar desktop environment again, etc. etc. etc. They'd play around with it for a few minutes and were soon off and running, getting things done.
But if I told them it was Linux first, they'd immediately get confused and convince themselves they couldn't use it.
Interesting, no?
Suggestion: you have nothing to fear but fear itself. Just give it a try. You'll be amazed how far things have progressed in the Linux world - very much to Microsoft's chagrin.
-40hz (July 02, 2013, 08:39 AM)
--- End quote ---
Well, I don’t think I would want to jump right in with my primary box. If I screw something up I would probably be down for a while until I could straighten it out! Plus I would then have to reinstall all my software (gobs of it!!) and that is when I would find out that a lot of it won't run on Linux. (Is that even a little accurate??)
Best bet is to install it on my last "primary" computer, which was running on Windows 7 Home Premium. It was built in May 2006 but it was fairly high-tech for its time. It has an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+, 2200.0 MHz, 4 GB Corsair SDRAM, an nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT w/ 512 MBytes of GDDR3 SDRAM, and three HDDs internal. I haven't used it very much since I got my current machine from Puget Systems in January 2012, but it is in pretty good shape. I wouldn’t have to worry if I put that older computer out of action for a while.
Of course I have to wait until I am somewhat stress-free... I'd hate losing it and kicking it across the room! (My toes can't take that stuff anymore!! :o ;D )
Thanks!
Jim
40hz:
Plus I would then have to reinstall all my software (gobs of it!!) and that is when I would find out that a lot of it won't run on Linux. (Is that even a little accurate??)
-J-Mac (July 02, 2013, 08:53 AM)
--- End quote ---
That's a lotta accurate.
Windows software is Windows software. Linux software is Linux software.
You can get some programs to run in a non-native environment. But not always. And usually not without some gotchas.
If you're absolutely wedded to a large number of titles in your Windows software library, you're stuck with Windows. That or running your stuff in a Windows virtual environment under Linux. Which amounts to the same thing - so why bother?
Some WINE and Crossover aficionados might try to tell you otherwise. But that's pretty much the way things are as of right now.
Sorry. :(
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