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Microsoft To Shut Down TechNet Subscription Service
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."
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.
If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
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.
TechNet was never for developers. It was for sys admins/IT professionals.
... for as long as I can remember!
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!
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.
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.
How come Slashdot never gets Slashdotted?