Microsoft MSDN Subscriptions 7.0 Professional Upgrade

Rating:
Summary: A good value, necessary for serious developers
Review: I've seen people mention how cost effective it can be to purchase VC++.NET or VC#.NET Standard and then upgrade to MSDN Professional. This is very true. What I had never seen was someone outline what actually comes in the box. For the record here's what will show up:
A full working (non-demo) copy of Visual Studio.NET 2003

MSDN Library documentation (this came with 2003 Standard products, but not 2002)

All of this will install on a simple XP Home edition computer (but you cannot debug or build web services).

Here's what you will need to do to get the rest of your software:

There is a small card in your box with a subscription activation ID number. You can return it filled out or call an 800 number, or go online and fill it out. Microsoft reports that within 7-10 days you will actually get your first FULL box of promised software.

I am very happy, and VS.NET does provide signifigant (but not critical) upgrades to the IDE of even the most recent C# or C++ Standard product. If you really want every meaningful tool at your disposal you want MSDN Professional.

Also don't forget that better than simply buying VS.NET you get all OS releases (which you will need for serious testing), and two telephone tech incidents (yeah, help from MS).

Rating:
Summary: A good value, necessary for serious developers
Review: I've seen people mention how cost effective it can be to purchase VC++.NET or VC#.NET Standard and then upgrade to MSDN Professional. This is very true. What I had never seen was someone outline what actually comes in the box. For the record here's what will show up:
A full working (non-demo) copy of Visual Studio.NET 2003

MSDN Library documentation (this came with 2003 Standard products, but not 2002)

All of this will install on a simple XP Home edition computer (but you cannot debug or build web services).

Here's what you will need to do to get the rest of your software:

There is a small card in your box with a subscription activation ID number. You can return it filled out or call an 800 number, or go online and fill it out. Microsoft reports that within 7-10 days you will actually get your first FULL box of promised software.

I am very happy, and VS.NET does provide signifigant (but not critical) upgrades to the IDE of even the most recent C# or C++ Standard product. If you really want every meaningful tool at your disposal you want MSDN Professional.

Also don't forget that better than simply buying VS.NET you get all OS releases (which you will need for serious testing), and two telephone tech incidents (yeah, help from MS).

Rating:
Summary: Amazon is shipping EXPIRED not valid MSDN Professional Subsr
Review: Just received MSDN Subscription 7.0 Professional Upgrade that cannot be activated.
According to Microsoft, MSDN retailers were told about the product with older activation code that will not be valid back in 06/2004.
But Amazon is still shipping out this expired product which is NO GOOD.

I have to wait 3 more weeks to get MSDN.
What a hassle.



Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best value in development tools
Review: Microsoft has offered MSDN subscriptions for some time now, and as most who might read this review already know, they're offered in a number of levels. For my money, MSDN Professional offers the best balance of functionality and cost. And the Upgrade version is a particularly good deal.

I started out with a copy of Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Standard Edition -- mid-2003 cost, around $$$. Owning this inexpensive tool not only provides an excellent introduction to Visual Basic and .NET technology, but it's your ticket to buy into MSDN with an Upgrade version, at substantial savings over the non-Upgrade version.

Whether Upgrade or non-Upgrade, you get the same goods. It starts with a whole pile of (development licensed) software, making it easy to set-up an entire development testing lab. And you also get Microsoft's suite of languages in the form of Visual Studio .NET, opening the door to any type of (Microsoft platform) development you'll ever want to consider... Desktop apps, web apps, Pocket PC apps... You name it.

Also key is MSDN content. You can access it online, and with this (or any other) MSDN Subscription, you have it all right on your desktop at any time, wherever you are. Thousands of useful articles, tips, techniques, and regular ol' documentation.

Of course, you also get the benefit of regular mailings of CDs or DVDs (your choice) with updates on software, SDKs, tools and more.

Note that -- as with all MSDN packages -- you're basically getting an empty box. Once received, you have to register the product, which triggers the fulfillment of the rest which are sent by mail. This requires roughly a couple of weeks. But soon enough you get a nice, big box of goodies. Piles of CDs in handy sleeves, a couple of different options for carting them around with you (a hard plastic master case, and a small nylon carrier for those on the go), among other things.

If you belong to the open source / Linux / Java universe, you wouldn't consider this tool to start with (and it would do you no good). But if you develop for the Microsoft platform -- or want to start -- there's no better value, and no better tools for the purpose.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best value in development tools
Review: Microsoft has offered MSDN subscriptions for some time now, and as most who might read this review already know, they're offered in a number of levels. For my money, MSDN Professional offers the best balance of functionality and cost. And the Upgrade version is a particularly good deal.

I started out with a copy of Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Standard Edition -- mid-2003 cost, around $$$. Owning this inexpensive tool not only provides an excellent introduction to Visual Basic and .NET technology, but it's your ticket to buy into MSDN with an Upgrade version, at substantial savings over the non-Upgrade version.

Whether Upgrade or non-Upgrade, you get the same goods. It starts with a whole pile of (development licensed) software, making it easy to set-up an entire development testing lab. And you also get Microsoft's suite of languages in the form of Visual Studio .NET, opening the door to any type of (Microsoft platform) development you'll ever want to consider... Desktop apps, web apps, Pocket PC apps... You name it.

Also key is MSDN content. You can access it online, and with this (or any other) MSDN Subscription, you have it all right on your desktop at any time, wherever you are. Thousands of useful articles, tips, techniques, and regular ol' documentation.

Of course, you also get the benefit of regular mailings of CDs or DVDs (your choice) with updates on software, SDKs, tools and more.

Note that -- as with all MSDN packages -- you're basically getting an empty box. Once received, you have to register the product, which triggers the fulfillment of the rest which are sent by mail. This requires roughly a couple of weeks. But soon enough you get a nice, big box of goodies. Piles of CDs in handy sleeves, a couple of different options for carting them around with you (a hard plastic master case, and a small nylon carrier for those on the go), among other things.

If you belong to the open source / Linux / Java universe, you wouldn't consider this tool to start with (and it would do you no good). But if you develop for the Microsoft platform -- or want to start -- there's no better value, and no better tools for the purpose.

Rating:
Summary: Good for professionals
Review: The box you receive from Amazon contains Visual Studio .NET 2003, but the CD key code that is enclosed is useless. Unfortunately, they do not tell you this until after you spend an hour installing the software. I had to call Microsoft and have them explain why two attempts at installation failed. You have to go to Microsoft's web site and register there, and they mail you the full package. It took 1.5 weeks to get the package of DVDs. You get VS.NET 2003, VS 6.0. MSDN Library, all the operating systems back to Windows 98, SQL Server 2000 Developer's Edition, and various SDK/DDKs, plus the current beta versions of Windows, VS.NET, and SQL Server.

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 have to be activated. You get 10 activations per subscription. Microsoft says if you reinstall on the same CPU, it doesn't count towards your activation count. The older operating systems do not have to be activated. The OS DVD is bootable so you can either build from scratch or upgrade an existing installation.

Even though this is sold as an upgrade, I was not prompted for my old CD keys.

This is a useful, if expensive, package for professional developers. If you have a lot of machines to QA with, it's really nice to be able to have older OS's like Win98 around. VS.NET 2003 is a nice IDE for .NET development.

Rating:
Summary: very useful for windows developers
Review: Very useful for any programmer who uses windows.