I've been programming in .Net professionally for 3 years and always looking to sharpen my tools. I'm a sole developer for a company that recently purchased a MSDN subscription along with VS2008 Pro. In what ways have you found the subscription to be useful? I'm used to Googling 80% of the day to figure out how to do what I want to do, and I've learned a ton that way. I'm having trouble seeing what the subscription gains me. Thoughts?
+2
A:
An MSDN subscription provides much more than simply an offline version of their documentation. You get access to nearly all relevant software that Microsoft makes including Windows, SQL Server, Office, etc. It also includes previous versions, as well as versions that are not yet released to the public.
It's great for testing, developing for a new platform, and for learning about new features in other Microsoft products in which you may not normally be exposed to.
Jason Young
2010-07-07 13:05:47
I would say that access to the software is the reason for the subscription.
confusedGeek
2010-07-07 13:08:03
Thanks for this reply. How exactly do dev usually take advantage of this? Do you get something like 1 included registration key for each version of Windows that you can put in a VM or something? Or do you get several copies to use on several machines?
bufferz
2010-07-07 23:22:10
You get 10 keys for each application, and I believe each one gets 10 activations (more than the usual 3 or so).MSDN subscriptions are licensed PER USER. That means that you can use it on 100 computers if you want (for dev and testing), ONLY if you use those machines. If another dev uses them, they will need a subscription as well.If other non-devs within the organization use them for other purposes, then you would have to buy a standard license.Hope that helps. That is my understanding, and may not be correct.
Jason Young
2010-07-09 14:00:38
Thanks again Jason, this would basically allow me to VM every version of Windows -- I could install any needed drivers, applications, etc. and then wipe it clean with a fresh activation. This would be very useful!
bufferz
2010-07-10 01:35:53
A:
Among other things you get a license for Visual Studio and Office. You also get access to a wide range of operating systems and applications you may use to test your own software. For instance you may want to test your software on different versions of Windows, or if you develop software for Exchange Server you probably need to install this product without having to buy a full production license just to be able to develop software.
Martin Liversage
2010-07-07 13:07:00
+1
A:
The MSDN subscription isn't necessarily about access to documentation but it gives you a few key pieces of functionality.
- Software licenses for Visual Studio, Office, Windows, etc.
- Technical Support Incidents - For when you can't answer the question
- MSDN Magazine Subscription (Yes you can get this outside of this as well)
I'm sure that there are some other things, but the license and support benefits are by far the "reasons" to have a MSDN subscription.
Mitchel Sellers
2010-07-07 13:11:27
"Technical Support Incidents" How well do the people at MSDN respond to such incidents? Are they faster than the StackOverflow mob? :P
bufferz
2010-07-07 23:23:17
+1
A:
If you really want to grow your ability as a .Net developer the best way is to spend time around other developers using the same toolset. There are just too many tools in the .Net environment to experience them all yourself. Especially since you don't have other co-workers explorering the .Net environment with you. If I were you I'd check the web for any .Net user's groups located near you and attend their meetings. Those can be great places to pick up new ideas/ways of using the tools.
jeffspost
2010-07-07 13:21:41
You know, this sounds like a really great idea. I looked up groups in my area and there seems to be a well established one. Thanks!
bufferz
2010-07-07 23:23:48