mactronix :
Just to get this crystal clear are you saying that if you have a technet subscription then MS will release the new OS to you for free?
Short answer: Yes. And before everyone else gets it, too.
Long Answer:
mactronix :
Just to get this crystal clear are you saying that if you have a technet subscription then MS will release the new OS to you for free?
I knew it gave preferance to Betas etc before everyone else but seriously Free OS's ? as many as you want ? well from what Bullheaded67
said about it paying for itself if you have more than a couple of PC's ?
Mactronix
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/manage/ms788692.aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/bb403698.aspx
Get Microsoft downloads and updates for Microsoft products and, with Technet Plus, get unlimited download access to full version software with no time limits.
Plus documentation, free online
Training courses, and message boards checked by people who really do know what they're talking about. Currently available client side Win 7 RC, Vista SP2, Server 2008, XP SP3, XP SP2, and XP Remote Desktop Connection. The "Latest Picks" on the site are: Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate, WIndows 7 RC, and Exchange Server 2010 Beta. The "Fine Print" being that your licences are for your testing/usage only - you can't resell - and are contingent upon maintaining your subscription. Though I've never seen/heard of MSFT pulling the plug on an otherwise legal subscriber's home machines cos they skipped their annual...
For a single PC, you're clearly better off buying a retail or OEM copy. Same for a couple of home machines. But as pointed out, the more computers you have and the more you like to play with the different software, the more and more a full subscription is worth it. Personally, I only have a couple machines at home. So dollar wise my situation is borderline whether I'm saving anything or not - leaning towards "not". It's the access to online docs, free training courses, and the ability to play with the stuff that I'm paying for. Like - Deciding to find out of Randall Kennedy is "right" about server 2008 being a better client than Vista** - It only cost me the effort of doing it.
Scott
**The answer to that one is "Yes, if you only want a bare bones installation for corporate usage and don't mind the work of stripping features yourself. For Home users, you really really should stick with Vista because you'd have to add back the multimedia/gaming stuff anyhow. So you're doing a LOT more work to run yourself in circles in order to get to where you started. *Big* waste of time.