Development software - How common is it for developers to buy it for personal use

Question

Edit: The answer is yes, pretty common. The Microsoft TechNet is one of best deals (except it does not have Visual Studio). So MSDN generally is a better choice. Thank you

Hello All, I was recently looking at prices of Microsoft Visual Studio, SQL server and MSDN subscription. I never considered it necessary to buy it for personal use, until this year. For some reason it is not possible to get any new hardware, operating systems or development tools at my work. Everything I can use for self-training of pet projects is on average 5-10 years old. So I am seriously thinking of buying my personal software. The company I work for is one of the largest in USA, but for last few years R&D is non-existent. And I have spent all possible trial periods for Microsoft Visual Studio, SQL Server and similar things. I never mind to spend hundreds of dollars for broadband, personal computers, technical books. But Development Software ?

So I need to hear from you. How many of you, being full-time employed by software shops decided to spend cash on things, your employer will never buy for you: things like Visual Studio, laptops, Windows 7 etc.

Answer 1

In the past I've bought Visual Foxpro, Visual studio 2003, and Expression blend. If you can attend conferences and launch events you can sometimes pick up free copies for personal use. Another alternative is to take an evening class somewhere so you can get the student discount for a personal copy to learn on.

Answer 2

You can also get a Technet subscription. With it you can download most of the software you'll need and it's really inexpensive. I think it's a perfect fit for you.

Answer 3

Ask yourself this question: how many trades people buy their own tools? Answer: pretty much all of them.

You do not need an expensive MSDN subscription for most of your dev work. There are free versions of Visual Studio available that will do 99% of what you need. There are free versions of SQLServer (look for the Express versions). The only thing the MSDN subscription will give you is access to the operating systems, plus lots of other stuff you probably will never use (although it also gives you Office, which can be handy).

You can get cheaper access to MSDN if you participate in either the BizSpark or or WebSpark programs.

Answer 4

You can enroll in a single tech class at your local university -- most of them partner with Microsoft and will give you all of that stuff for free if you're a student.

Answer 5

Startup a company to build something and then get BizSpark for $100 after 3 years.

Answer 6

I pay my own money for an IntelliJ license every year. I use it at home for my own projects.

Answer 7

Microsoft makes a lot of free tools available that allow you to accomplish what you need to. I've been building web sites for a while now using Visual Web Developer expression edition and Visual C# expression edition along with SQL Server 2008 Express Edition.

For most side/home/research projects, these tools are sufficient.

There are other open source options as well, such as SharpDevelop, but I've found the express editions from Microsoft to be much more stable.

If you are looking to start a business on the side, however, these tools are not sufficient. If you are looking to become an ISV and use Microsoft tools for development, you can enroll in BizSpark. If you are building web sites, there is a parallel program called WebSiteSpark. Both of these programs give you access to Microsoft tools and technologies equivalent to MSDN for free for a limited period of time (3 years or a certain revenue benchmark). The only caveat is that once you are out of the program, you need to compensate Microsoft $100.

Hope this helps...

Answer 8

When I work as a contractor (freelancer), I buy my own development tools whenever I think I need them. As an employee, never ever.

Answer 9

Just a quick fyi, if you're not on Windows you can give MonoDevelop a shot, I really enjoy using it for personal use at home where I have an older laptop running linux.

If Windows OS is your final choice though, I would also suggest the Technet subscription, I think it offers good value.