

Microsoft technet for free, surely this is a mistake - dunk010
https://om2.one.microsoft.com/offer/technet_emea.aspx

======
iamelgringo
Bizspark only costs $100 for startups, and you only pay after 3 years of
usage. It's a similar package to Tech Net. You essentially get free licenses
to almost everything MSFT owns for 3 years if you're a startup.
[http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/BizSpark/Pages/At_a_Glan...](http://www.microsoftstartupzone.com/BizSpark/Pages/At_a_Glance.aspx)

I've been using the service for 6 months. It's dreamy, and I haven't seen a
single string attached. It's worth it just to get copies of Office Unlimited.

MSFT is the low cost option for startups.

~~~
kierank
I wonder why Adobe doesn't offer anything similar.

~~~
unexpected
I think it's because Adobe doesn't really have any competitors in its
marketspace (aside from Flash).

Adobe's bread and butter is still the Creative Suite. It doesn't view GIMP,
Inkspace, etc. as a big enough threat, so why give it away for free?

Microsoft on the other hand, is competing with Java for most developer
mindshare (in the "conventional" space) and RoR, Django, PHP (in the
"unconventional" space). Microsoft also knows that the GNU C++ compiler isn't
half-bad, and additionally with the license change in Qt, it's even easier.

Microsoft wants to nurture small microsoft shops in case they become big
microsoft shops one day. It's a way to keep the ecosystem thriving!

Once Adobe has a competitor that can compete on technical merit (and not just,
"use this b/c it's free!"), then maybe Adobe can consider something similar.

It's very, very, hard to compete on price. If that's your business strategy,
you're going to fail in the long-run. You have to have some amount of
technical innovation in your product.

~~~
jamesk2
If MS's Silverlight catches on, Adobe and Flash will have some competition.
But it seems most designers I know have some sort of serious pathological
dislike of Microsoft so it seems rather unlikely.

------
mellampudi
[http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/06/03/free-1-year-
microso...](http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/06/03/free-1-year-microsoft-
technet-plus-subscription-consumer-services-professional-pilot/)

~~~
miles
FTA: "WARNING: Using the trick above to subscribe to TechNet Plus without
participating in the research activities is in fact illegal, and the
subscription may be revoked and made inactive anytime (proof from 1/1/1900
expiration date)."

I don't know about _illegal_ , but it might very well violate their terms of
service, etc.

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sp332
The link submitted is for UK. Not sure if it makes a difference, but there are
different links for US <https://om2.one.microsoft.com/offer/technet_na.aspx>
and Canada <https://om2.one.microsoft.com/offer/technet_can.aspx>

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nailer
It's down now.

"Server Error in '/offer' Application."

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int2e
just received an email letting me know they've deactivated my account:

"Microsoft contracted with us, Intrepid Consultants, Inc, to conduct the
TechNet Plus Pilot Study program research and manage the activities of the
pilot study. Our records show that you have recently signed up for a free
TechNet Plus subscription through a registration link that was made available
without authorization on a public blog.

The registration link is part of a proprietary study and the party that shared
the information was in violation of the terms and conditions to which they
agreed to participate in the study. Membership to the Pilot study is limited
and all members of the program are required to first meet survey requirements
and then complete tasks and assignments over a two month period in order to
qualify for and have access to the free TechNet Plus subscription. Since this
was a privately conducted pilot study, at no time was it ever intended that a
free TechNet Plus registration link would appear on a public internet site,
which was done in violation of the terms to which participants agreed upon
registering to participate in the pilot study.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but for this reason, we have
deactivated your subscription, as well as all other subscriptions resulting
from the unauthorized publication of the TechNet Plus Pilot Study program
registration link on a public blog. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience.

Kind regards,

The Intrepid Consultants Team "

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pierrefar
It says "Pilot". Could it be a trial of some sort?

~~~
Torn
A year's trial, and this is awesome. Verified as costing £0.00 !

edit: keys generate for me just fine (I'm using Opera as it doesnt seem to
work in IE7), and the downloads also work.

Make sure you have registered your Subscriber Benefit Access Number (BAN)
number on your receipt to activate your account!

~~~
Keyframe
I've also subscribed and subscription expiration says: 1/1/1900

~~~
kierank
Product keys don't seem to work though...

EDIT: I mean the site won't generate any keys for you.

~~~
Steve0
Use internet explorer (never thought I'd say this). You need to accept an add-
in called "MS transfer manager".

The site generates keys but seems a bit buggy, also can't verify which of
these products need a key.

At least it generates a key for Applications > Office XP > Office XP
Professional - CD (English) : JPXQJ-...

Some keys show up others don't, I'll upgrade my IE to 8, let's see what
happens.

Edit: After update to IE8 I get a descent error warning: "An Error Has
Occurred: There was an error error while trying to retrieve requsted key
information and we cannot process your request.

You can try to:

\- your browser and retry the operation again in a few minutes.

\- Contact Support

\- Read the On-Line Self Help

Reference Id: 19497582

This error has been logged with the reference number noted above. Please use
this reference number if you contact support."

~~~
ddfall
I did have a few keys that worked (Office XP, 2003) but most do not work.

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rman666
phish?

------
weegee
it doesn't include VAT (value added tax)

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pbhj
I can confirm that all the webpages in the sign up process are broken! No
wonder MS can't create a browser that works they don't appear to have heard of
the W3C validation tools - 49 errors and a few warnings on TechNet receipt
page!

I had to hack the page to hide elements just so I could enter my details ...
incredible.

~~~
pbhj
why all the negatives? I did have to hack the page to use it, still signed up
though.

