[SkyWalker]

No idea on the price. Mine's Win 7 Enterprise.

[vasudeva]

I must say that for people interested in MS software, one could do a lot worse than buying a Technet subscription. Only hitch is that Indian prices are a lot higher than US/UK prices but there are easy workarounds. Bought myself a Technet Pro subscription for Rs. 11,000 (my sis-in-law bought it for me from her US address) that gives me this:
1. 500 activations of windows 7 enterprise.
2. 600 activations of other windows 7 versions.
3. 200 activations of office 2010
4. 500 activations of office 2007
5. close to 1000 activations of vista and xp (if I ever get to exhausting from windows 7 activations).
6. similar 500 activations of windows server 2008 r2 hpc, standard, etc.
7. such huge numbers for other MS products.

The thing is these are activations which means inputing a key on a fresh install. Image your computer and one would expect to not even use 10 installs before next windows/office comes out.

As I said, the hitch is that US technet pro is for around 11,000 but has to be bought from a US address and US credit card (Indian intl. will not do). For UK subscriptions at 14-15K, a UK address is required but an Indian credit card passes.

The keys can be claimed during the subscription (1 year) but they last forever (yours forever). Renew in time for the next generation and one can get as much as one wants of MS for as long as one wants. As I see the prices, a single win 7 ultimate dvd is Rs. 10K+, and office 2010 pro plus is Rs. 20K+. Server editions are in bigger numbers.

Open a virtual machine and get more than 2 machines on the same computer. Great for testing and bye-bye dual/multiple boots.

One can go for a Standard Subscription which should be 20-30% cheaper but has no windows 7 enterprise. Still one gets 200 activations of Ultimate (functionally same as Enterprise) and 200 activations of Office 2010. Plus, nearly all server versions.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I was thinking of getting a technet subscription, not because I want Windows 7 but because I want long-term access to XP and the Office products. I can manage a UK address, and even a UK debit or credit card, but the addresses registered for those cards is my India home.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I was thinking of getting a technet subscription, not because I want Windows 7 but because I want long-term access to XP and the Office products. I can manage a UK address, and even a UK debit or credit card, but the addresses registered for those cards is my India home.

US subscription requires a US address and US card. Cheapest
UK subscription requires a UK address but any card will do (trust me this works). Thus your India address credit card (no debit cards) will work for UK but not US subscription. Why not try it for both US and Uk. Last time checked, it did not work for US but no problems for UK.

Technet Std in UK is around 10K but Pro is around 15 K (incl. VAT). The same in India is 25K. Technet Pro does give 500 actvations of win 7 enterprise, plus vista enterprise+some other software. Technet Pro always has a coupon benefit code on the net which entitles to a 25% discount. The 15K price approx is after applying that discount. Technet Std is not known to be discounted.

All you need is a windows live id, put that as account mail, fill out the details, make the payment, look for benefit access no/subscription no immediately on payment, and you can immediately get on with it and claim your keys and download anything.

The physical address will get a lot of junk mail from MS in a week or two. If you know someone in UK who will take that junk and dump it, you are good.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Thanks for that information. I think my friend will be really annoyed by the junk mail!

I've never used windows live --- but I do have a technet membership (not subscription) from years ago that still seems active.

I hate this concept of different prices around the world...

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Thanks for that information. I think my friend will be really annoyed by the junk mail!

I've never used windows live --- but I do have a technet membership (not subscription) from years ago that still seems active.

I hate this concept of different prices around the world...

The keys will remain active forever. Only you cannot download and also cannot claim new keys.

You can claim your old keys if you had not during the subscription. But no new keys and no downloads. Best is to take it for 1 year, let it expire and then take a new one after 2-3 years (new cycle of software).

[kapilvgupta]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I must say that for people interested in MS software, one could do a lot worse than buying a Technet subscription.
...
...
One can go for a Standard Subscription which should be 20-30% cheaper but has no windows 7 enterprise. Still one gets 200 activations of Ultimate (functionally same as Enterprise) and 200 activations of Office 2010. Plus, nearly all server versions.

wow, this is simply awesome. Was just about to buy a Win7 edition for my laptop
I tried searching the MS Technet site but could not get definative answers for a couple of questions..hope someone here can help

• This seems too good to be true so is there a catch or any pre-requisites for getting a Technet subscription?
• Is it legal to buy a subscription from the US and use it here in India?
• Are these 'activations' valid for a single computer..as in are they hardware locked?

peace,
~kg

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by kapilvgupta

[*]This seems too good to be true so is there a catch or any pre-requisites for getting a Technet subscription?[*]Is it legal to buy a subscription from the US and use it here in India?[*]Are these 'activations' valid for a single computer..as in are they hardware locked?[/list]peace,
~kg

No catch in the sense that you are not entitled to it.
Absolutely legal. You have moved after buying and MS has no problems. The subscription allows for `one user, many computers, many locations' and not `many users, many computers, many locations'.

The keys can be used for as many computers that a single user wants. remember, technet is for it pros (loosely and legally anyone) who test computers and break them often (in terms of software).

Remember one user. Just do not share with anyone (OK I have share with my brother only but you get the drift). Share with 1, it becomes 2, then 4, then leaked on the net, and if MS finds out that they are leaked, all keys are blocked.

Legally, MS has no objections to one user Joe buying a subscription from anywhere in the world, using it anywhere, and on as many computers. They are meant for one user. Otherwise, 1000 people or more may get a free ride at MS expense.

You can buy technet in India without any questions asked. The problem is cost.

Technet Pro has win 7 enterprise but technet std does not have it. For a consumer, that is the only diff.
In both, uou get 200 activations for each version of win 7-ult, pro, home prem, home basic, starter.
How: say for ultimate, you get 10 keys (*10 activations/key=100) for Ultimate and 10 keys (or 100 act.) for Ultimate N. Ultimate N is the same as Ultimate except for wmp. Not a problem: download and install the entire media package from microsoft downloads. Always advisable than hunting for codecs and messing up the system.

[kapilvgupta]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

No catch in the sense that you are not entitled to it.
Absolutely legal. You have moved after buying and MS has no problems. The subscription allows for `one user, many computers, many locations' and not `many users, many computers, many locations'.

The keys can be used for as many computers that a single user wants. remember, technet is for it pros (loosely and legally anyone) who test computers and break them often (in terms of software).
..
..
Technet Pro has win 7 enterprise but technet std does not have it. For a consumer, that is the only diff.
In both, uou get 200 activations for each version of win 7-ult, pro, home prem, home basic, starter.
How: say for ultimate, you get 10 keys (*10 activations/key=100) for Ultimate and 10 keys (or 100 act.) for Ultimate N. Ultimate N is the same as Ultimate except for wmp. Not a problem: download and install the entire media package from microsoft downloads. Always advisable than hunting for codecs and messing up the system.

@vasudeva - thanks for the detailed response

am not planning to share it with anyone but wanted one for my laptop, desktop and future HTPC. I got to understand the funda of sharing software the tough way. Had bought a student copy of Office 2007 (5 license), shared it with a friend after I had installed mine and this year when my laptop conked and had to install Office07 again...was told by MS that my copy was not genuine

another small q - what extra feature(s) does Win7 Enterprise have over Professional or Ultimate...am unable to find any feature comparison for Win7-Enterprise with Professional or Ultimate.

peace,
~kg

[Thad E Ginathom]

The catch is that you are meant to be a pro. That's fine! I am the IT manager and network administrator for my house!

[Epic]

Hey guys,

Using Windows 7 Ultimate which has the Windows Media Player 12 (WMP 12). For some reason I am really not comfortable with with WMP 12 as it doesn't have 'Advanced Tag Editor' or at least I can't seem to find it. Also the OS just does its own thing and starts managing music by creating folders of artists and putting all music of that artist in that folder. I am finding this very irritating as I liked managing my music 'my' way and not as per WMP 12. Is there any solution to this?

I am planning to shift back to Windows XP with WMP 10

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by kapilvgupta

@vasudeva - thanks for the detailed response

another small q - what extra feature(s) does Win7 Enterprise have over Professional or Ultimate...am unable to find any feature comparison for Win7-Enterprise with Professional or Ultimate.

peace,
~kg

Windows 7 editions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ph03n!x]

Windows 7 SP1 is out (has been out through Technet and other channels for a while..). There is no visible changes or added features to Win 7, except for the host of fixes.

[msdivy]

Can't find the thread on Windows 8. Hence posting here.

From the video below, Windows 8 seem to be designed for touch. It is expected in 2012. The UI is quite similar to Windows Phone 7.

YouTube - Building "Windows 8" - Video

Source: Sinofsky shows off Windows 8 at D9 | Circuit Breaker - CNET News

[msdivy]

Windows 8 developer preview Release is out !

Initial impressions:
Except entry UI, not much change from Win7. I felt Win8 is some kind of advanced theme over Win7. This might interest consumers. But I doubt enterprises investing in Win8.

Screenshot of Start Menu: