Microsoft Tech Net Subscribers Club

Wrigleyvillain · Dec 27, 2012

I will be getting a subscription now that I have a good homelab environment in which to run and test all this stuff most notably the enterprise products such as Server 2012. There are other trial licenses available for the server OS's and such but still think will be worth it for me (and the trials are only six months). The new terms are definitely unfortunate, though.

Frick · Dec 27, 2012

qubit said:
Dumb post? Who are you to judge my posts? Speak for yourself.

I thought it was dumb, therefore I should judge it. You might as well have told him to stay away from the internet or something. Why would you avoid MS? It's just a stupid advice.

Anyway, If you want it, get it.

Just counting software/cost it's still worth it, and I do get that MS wants us too use it as intended, but it's not the same anymore.. I wish I could afford it.

Wrigleyvillain · Dec 28, 2012

Yeah like usual a couple of selfish and inconsiderate morons ruined a good thing for everybody else for a little bit of temporary profit. To say nothing of unethical/criminal behavior.

Luke · Dec 28, 2012

I only have a standard subscription currently and if i was to upgrade to Pro do they still give you 5 license keys for each product or have they reduced that as well?

GLD · Sep 2, 2013

Bummer people. Looks like Microsoft retired TechNet subscription service on August 31, 2013.

Mussels · Sep 2, 2013

what :/

H82LUZ73 · Sep 2, 2013

Microsoft got rid of the service all together ,Shame too it was an awesome service to use and test new old software with ,I personally never sold any of my keys ,Shame some pirates on the Internet ruined it for the rest of us.Now i`m just waiting to see if my keys for Vista to Windows 8 (Office 2010-13) will deactivate even though my terms of service where before last July 16 th.Now we all have to spend on a MSND subscription and can only get it if we have proof of business license or something like that.

Effective September 1, 2013, TechNet Subscriptions are no longer available for purchase through the TechNet Subscriptions website. Subscribers may activate purchased subscriptions through September 30, 2013.

Microsoft is retiring the TechNet Subscriptions service and discontinued sales on August 31, 2013. Subscribers with active accounts may continue to access program benefits until their current subscription period concludes.

More background on Microsoft’s decision is available on the TechNet Subscriptions homepage.

Mussels · Sep 2, 2013

uggggh, and i bet all new versions of windows end up on yearly subsciptions

DanishDevil · Sep 2, 2013

Updated OP, thanks GLD and H82LUZ73.

Shame. It was great, people took advantage and Microsoft made it suck but still viable, now it's gone for good.

Agreed Mussels, inb4 Windows 365.

suraswami · Sep 3, 2013

H82LUZ73 said:
. Subscribers may activate purchased subscriptions through September 30, 2013.

You mean the subscription needs to be activated or the keys have to be activated (means keys no longer activated after september 30th)?

newtekie1 · Sep 3, 2013

suraswami said:
You mean the subscription needs to be activated or the keys have to be activated (means keys no longer activated after september 30th)?

The keys will activate, but if you did like me and purchased a subscription at the last minute you have to go through the steps to activate it so you can access the technet subscriber area before Sept 30th.

95Viper · Sep 9, 2013

Windows 8.1 is on Technet!

Well, if you are a Technet subscriber, then Windows 8.1 (Standard and Pro in same ISOs) has been posted for download and to get your product keys, as of 9/9/2013.

Sign-in and get 'em.

Also, in case anyone is interested...

Microsoft is providing active subscribers with a free, one-time, 90 day extension

The free, 90 day subscription extension is available for customers whose TechNet Subscriptions:
1.Were active as of September 1, 2013
2.Expire on or before September 30, 2014
3.Have not been granted through the Volume Licensing program

qubit · Sep 9, 2013

95Viper said:
Windows 8.1 is on Technet!

That's a pleasant surprise. Initial reports were saying that TN subscribers wouldn't get it any earlier than the retail release date.

How many keys did they give you?

Let us know what it's like.

Red_Machine · Sep 9, 2013

I've been a subscriber since last summer, glad I did too. For the price of a single copy of Windows, you get access to their entire software database.

Mussels · Sep 10, 2013

Red_Machine said:
I've been a subscriber since last summer, glad I did too. For the price of a single copy of Windows, you get access to their entire software database.

pity its gone now

95Viper · Sep 10, 2013

qubit said:
How many keys did they give you?

I've got a standard subscription... so you you get two (2).

newtekie1 · Sep 10, 2013

Red_Machine said:
I've been a subscriber since last summer, glad I did too. For the price of a single copy of Windows, you get access to their entire software database.

Its too bad most people didn't use it the way it was supposed to be used. The software was not supposed to be installed permanently on your main computer/s. It was meant for testing the software to decide if it fit your needs and then you were supposed to purchase the software separately to install permanently.

Really, the people saying "Oh it was such a great deal" are reason the program got shut down.

95Viper said:
I've got a standard subscription... so you you get two (2).

The Professional subscription gives you 3, as well as giving you keys for the Enterprise versions of Windows which allow you to activate them a lot more than the normal keys do.

DanishDevil · Sep 10, 2013

95Viper said:
Windows 8.1 is on Technet!

Well, if you are a Technet subscriber, then Windows 8.1 (Standard and Pro in same ISOs) has been posted for download and to get your product keys, as of 9/9/2013.

Sign-in and get 'em.

Also, in case anyone is interested...

Microsoft is providing active subscribers with a free, one-time, 90 day extension

Added to OP :toast:

Wrigleyvillain · Sep 10, 2013

newtekie1 said:
Really, the people saying "Oh it was such a great deal" are reason the program got shut down.

Yeah that and some cases of blatant piracy apparently. And not trying to call anyone out but Rhino's (I believe it was) comment about knowing a bunch of "unhappy small businesses now"...well shit like that didn't help either. Not at all the programs intent and could really argue such hurt MS sales to a degree (which devs and media companies always scream but is not always at least completely the case).

qubit · Sep 10, 2013

Wrigleyvillain said:
Yeah that and some cases of blatant piracy apparently. And not trying to call anyone out but Rhino's (I believe it was) comment about knowing a bunch of "unhappy small businesses now"...well shit like that didn't help either. Not at all the programs intent and could really argue such hurt MS sales to a degree (which devs and media companies always scream but is not always at least completely the case).

One could also argue that paying Microsoft hundreds of pounds/dollars per year for mere trial software is taking the piss.

Microsoft 100% knew that people would use it as their main production software since there are no time or functionality limits on TN software and the fact that they kept the program going for a very long 15 years shows that this situation couldn't have done them much harm. If anything, it gave a big leg-up to their market penetration, which is what they were really after.

It's obvious why they're pulling TN now. Their recent misfires with W8 Metro and other areas are leading to lost sales, so they're pulling the noose tighter in a bid to stem the flow. Of course, this won't work and serves only to alienate their customer base, who now have more choice than before to use alternative products. Witness the fact that W8.1 is now available on TN before retail release after first saying it wouldn't be, another U-turn. Instead of retaining their monopoly, Microsoft are sinking down into a "me too" company and this is a sign of their desperation to keep hold of it.

erocker · Sep 10, 2013

I agree with you Q. Other than having any kind of O/S options. When your business uses specialized equipment running specialized software you have no choice other than using Windows.... I can't even use OSX if I wanted to.

In my industry it seems that software developers are stuck in the early 90's.... at least most things work with Windows 7 now.

newtekie1 · Sep 10, 2013

qubit said:
One could also argue that paying Microsoft hundreds of pounds/dollars per year for mere trial software is taking the piss.

Not really when you consider the actual cost of the software. Paying $350 to test your company's older software for compatibility with Server 2012 and Windows 7/8 is a small price compared to the $700 for Server 2012 base, and $150 for 5 CALs, and $700 for 5 copies of Windows 8. only to find out oops your software doesn't work with 2012 so now you have to shell out another $700 for 2008 R2 and hope that works.

But then again, I guess that is why they've replaced Technet with 90-120 day trials of most of their software.

qubit said:
Microsoft 100% knew that people would use it as their main production software since there are no time or functionality limits on TN software and the fact that they kept the program going for a very long 15 years shows that this situation couldn't have done them much harm. If anything, it gave a big leg-up to their market penetration, which is what they were really after.

I'm sure they did, but up until recently Technet was pretty unknown. However, in the last 2-3 years it exploded in popularity. And most of the new subscribers were mis-using it. Again, another reason they retired it and went with free 90-120 day trials.

qubit said:
It's obvious why they're pulling TN now. Their recent misfires with W8 Metro and other areas are leading to lost sales, so they're pulling the noose tighter in a bid to stem the flow. Of course, this won't work and serves only to alienate their customer base, who now have more choice than before to use alternative products. Witness the fact that W8.1 is now available on TN before retail release after first saying it wouldn't be, another U-turn. Instead of retaining their monopoly, Microsoft are sinking down into a "me too" company and this is a sign of their desperation to keep hold of it.

It is obvious to me, it has become to popular and too many people mis-use it. It has nothing to do with Win8 sales, they aren't stupid enough to think they can get back past sales by terminating future programs. Anyone that wanted to get Win8 through technet already has.

Wile E · Sep 11, 2013

erocker said:
I agree with you Q. Other than having any kind of O/S options. When your business uses specialized equipment running specialized software you have no choice other than using Windows.... I can't even use OSX if I wanted to.

In my industry it seems that software developers are stuck in the early 90's.... at least most things work with Windows 7 now.

Alldata?

qubit · Sep 11, 2013

@nt1

Your three points seem valid to me (not 100% sure about the first one but I get what you're saying) but I also don't think they're mutually exclusive with what I was saying about Microsoft's misfires either - and they really have been over the last few years. Otherwise you wouldn't see Steven Sinofsky leave suddenly like that at the hight of W8's launch and Ballmer leaving soon.

Unfortunately, ultimately none of us know all the factors leading to Microsoft's decision to pull TN since we're not privvy to the information and politics that top management is taking into account and I'm sure there are several others that we don't even know about all mixed up in there.

erocker · Sep 11, 2013

Wile E said:
Alldata?

That's one of them. I just started using ShopKey and it is much, much, much better than AllData. There's also the software for my alignment machine, tire balancer CAD for wheel repair and a couple other OBD tools I have.

System Name	DarkStar
Processor	i5 3570K 4.4Ghz
Motherboard	Asrock Z77 Extreme 3
Cooling	Apogee HD White/XSPC Razer blocks
Memory	8GB Samsung Green 1600
Video Card(s)	2 x GTX 670 4GB
Storage	2 x 120GB Samsung 830
Display(s)	27" QNIX
Case	Enthoo Pro
Power Supply	Seasonic Platinum 760
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei
Keyboard	Ducky Pro MX Black
Software	Windows 8.1 x64

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
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Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	DarkStar
Processor	i5 3570K 4.4Ghz
Motherboard	Asrock Z77 Extreme 3
Cooling	Apogee HD White/XSPC Razer blocks
Memory	8GB Samsung Green 1600
Video Card(s)	2 x GTX 670 4GB
Storage	2 x 120GB Samsung 830
Display(s)	27" QNIX
Case	Enthoo Pro
Power Supply	Seasonic Platinum 760
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei
Keyboard	Ducky Pro MX Black
Software	Windows 8.1 x64

System Name	Desktop Rig\Laptop HP 8510P
Processor	Intel Core i7 970 @ 4.2ghz 24/7 \Intel T9300 @ 2.5Ghz
Motherboard	ASUS P6X58D Premium Motherboard\HP 8510P
Cooling	Custom Water\Laptop cooling
Memory	6x2GB DDR3 PC3-16000\3Gb of 667
Video Card(s)	2 x GTX 680 SLI \HD2600 256Mb
Storage	Intel 240GB, WD 1TB Black \OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
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Case	Xigmatek Elysium\it's a laptop
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi Bravura 7.1\SoundMAX onboard
Power Supply	Corsair TX850W\90W power brick
Software	Windows 7 Pro x64\Windows 7 Pro x64

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, AMD Wraith Prism.
Motherboard	ASUS TUF X570-Plus (Wi-Fi).
Cooling	Antec 120mm RGB case fans.
Memory	4x8gb, G.SKILL F4-3600C16D-16GVKC.
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 6700.
Storage	PNY XLR8 CS3040 2TB 4.0x4 NVMe ssd with Vantec ICEBERQ heat sink.
Display(s)	ASUS VP278QG 27", 1080p, 75hz, FreeSync.
Case	Antec GX202.
Audio Device(s)	Onboard sound, Logitech Z625 THX 2.1's, Logitech G430 headphones.
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime GX-750.
Mouse	Logitech G203 Prodigy.
Keyboard	Logitech G213.
Software	Windows 11 Pro, @ Day 1.

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	RyZen FX
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2
Cooling	DeepCool AK400 Zero Dark Plus
Memory	Corsair CMK32GX4M2E3200C16 X2 32gig dual channel
Video Card(s)	ASUS RX 7700XT TUF OC
Storage	x2 Lexar SSD NM710 2TB 2XSeagate 1Terrabyte 1x Seagate 2 Terrabyte
Display(s)	40 Inch Samsung HDTV (monitor)
Case	HAF-X:)
Audio Device(s)	AMD/HDMI to Onkyo HT-R508 Receiver
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G2 Power Supply
Software	Windows 10 Pro X64

System Name	Big Devil
Processor	Intel Core i5-2500K
Motherboard	ECS P67H2-A2
Cooling	XSPC Rasa \| Black Ice GT Stealth 240 \| XSPC X2O 750 \| 2x ACF12PWM \| PrimoChill White 7/16"
Memory	2x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP Arctic White 1600MHz CL9
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 780 ACX SC
Storage	Intel 520 Series 180GB + WD 1TB Blue
Display(s)	HP ZR30W 30" 2650x1600 IPS
Case	Corsair 600T SE
Audio Device(s)	Xonar Essence STX \| Sennheisser PC350 "Hero" Modded \| Corsair SP2500
Power Supply	ABS SL 1050W (Enermax Revolution Rebadge)
Software	Windows 8.1 x64 Pro w/ Media Center
Benchmark Scores	Ducky Year of the Snake w/ Cherry MX Browns & Year of the Tiger PBT Keycaps \| Razer Deathadder Black

System Name	---
Processor	FX 8350 @ 4.00 Ghz with 1.28v
Motherboard	Gigabyte 990FX-UD3 v4.0, Hacked Bios F4.x
Cooling	Silenx 4 pipe Tower cooler + 2 x Cougar 120mm fan, 3 x 120mm, 1 x 200 mm Red LED fan
Memory	Kingston HyperX DDR3 1866 16GB + Patriot Memory DDR3 1866 16GB
Video Card(s)	Asus R9 290 OC @ GPU - 1050, MEM - 1300
Storage	Inland 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD for OS, WDC Black - 2TB + 1TB Storage, Inland 480GB SSD - Games
Display(s)	3 x 1080P LCDs - Acer 25" + Acer 23" + HP 23"
Case	AeroCool XPredator X3
Audio Device(s)	Built-in Realtek
Power Supply	Corsair HX1000 Modular
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64 bit

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	Quantumville™
Processor	Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 850 Pro 256GB \| WD Black 4TB \| WD Blue 6TB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) \| Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case	Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply	Corsair AX1600i
Mouse	Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard	Yes
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

System Name	Chachamaru-IV \| Retro Battlestation
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X \| Intel Pentium II 450MHz
Motherboard	ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming \| MSI MS-6116 (Intel 440BX chipset)
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4
Memory	32GB Corsair DDR4-3000 (16-20-20-38) \| 512MB PC133 SDRAM
Video Card(s)	nVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 FE \| 3dfx Voodoo3 3000
Storage	1TB WD_Black SN850 NVME SSD (OS), Toshiba 3TB (Storage), Toshiba 3TB (Steam)
Display(s)	Samsung Odyssey G5 27" @ 1440p144 & Dell P2312H @ 1080p60
Case	SilverStone Seta A1 \| Beige box
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster AE-7 (Speakers), Creative Zen Hybrid headset \| Sound Blaster AWE64
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 750 G2 \| 250W ASETEC
Mouse	Roccat Kone Air\| Microsoft Serial Mouse v2.0A
Keyboard	Vortex Race3 \| Dell AT102W
Software	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro \| Microsoft Windows 98SE

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling	EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory	32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 4090
Storage	WD m.2
Display(s)	LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case	Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s)	Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	Tester84
Software	Windows 11

System Name	The ClusterF**k
Processor	980X @ 4Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 BIOS F12
Cooling	MCR-320, DDC-1 pump w/Bitspower res top (1/2" fittings), Koolance CPU-360
Memory	3x2GB Mushkin Redlines 1600Mhz 6-8-6-24 1T
Video Card(s)	Evga GTX 580
Storage	Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB, 2xSeagate 320GB RAID0; 2xSeagate 3TB; 2xSamsung 2TB; Samsung 1.5TB
Display(s)	HP LP2475w 24" 1920x1200 IPS
Case	Technofront Bench Station
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi Forte into Onkyo SR606 and Polk TSi200's + RM6750
Power Supply	ENERMAX Galaxy EVO EGX1250EWT 1250W
Software	Win7 Ultimate N x64, OSX 10.8.4

Microsoft Tech Net Subscribers Club

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