win8 No Windows 8 Pro on TechNet Professional?

[Steven P. Administrators]

Am I doing it wrong? I can only see Windows 8 and Windows 8 Enterprise (plus some "N" versions).

Any help appreciated.

[kilimax]

Product key determines the edition. That's what happened when I downloaded Windows 8 from MSDN. You are given a choice when you ask for your product key. Chose the Pro key

[Steven P. Administrators]

Ah thank you. Will give that a go then.

[Tech085]

I glad you can afford a account with Technet I not going to dare because I am using the money for the iPhone 5.

[Steven P. Administrators]

I glad you can afford a account with Technet I not going to dare because I am using the money for the iPhone 5.

TechNet Standard starts at $199 then $149.00 per year renewal. Pretty good if you want Windows 8 and Office for example, on more than one PC.

[Steven P. Administrators]

K another question :p How many activations per key? 5?

[kilimax]

Have MS not reduced the activations down to 2 or 3? Not entirely sure though.

[~Johnny]

I thought it had stayed at 10 as it's always been, you just got less keys? :p

[+Fahim S. MVC]

I thought software on TechNet was provided for evaluation purposes only?

[kilimax]

Not sure. I believe these keys are retail keys so they are limited. I think even MS are vague on this too!!

[spaceelf]

I thought software on TechNet was provided for evaluation purposes only?

It is, but a lot of people have no qualms about ignoring license terms.

To be honest they're not alone, I don't have a normal Office license anywhere, between former technet sub and tech conferences...so depending on the price Office 365 Home Premium might just be awesome.

[+Fahim S. MVC]

It is, but a lot of people have no qualms about ignoring license terms.

Frankly they're not alone, I don't have a normal Office license anywhere...so depending on the price Office 365 Home Premium might just be awesome.

Thanks for clarifying - I'm going to steer clear as I like to live within licensing terms.

[Steven P. Administrators]

You can use the software so long as you have a valid TechNet account, when your subscription expires, you're required to uninstall the software you got from there.

[Barney T. Administrators]

Hey Sreve,

I have a TechNet account also and there is no Windows 8 Pro on the list. Windows 8 Enterprise is there which is Windows 8 Pro with some developer stuff added (I have read). Microsoft has dropped the keys down to three, I believe and also as you stated, when your TechNet account expires, your keys are no longer valid.

Sucks with the new restrictions....

[jasondefaoite]

You can use the software so long as you have a valid TechNet account, when your subscription expires, you're required to uninstall the software you got from there.

Define "use"

Using the software and other benefits

• Using software. Your use of the software is subject to the license terms provided with the software, such as click-through license terms, except for any changes to those terms that are provided in this agreement.
  
  • You may not use the software if you do not have an active subscription.
    
  • You may install and use the software on your devices only to evaluate the software.
    
  • You may not use the software in a live operating environment, in a staging environment, or with data that has not been backed up.
    
  • You may not use the software for software development or in an application development environment.
    
  • The components of each software program are licensed as a single unit. You may not separate the components and install them on different devices.
    
  • You may not share, transfer, resell, or assign your subscription or the software
    

[kilimax]

Hey Sreve,

I have a TechNet account also and there is no Windows 8 Pro on the list. Windows 8 Enterprise is there which is Windows 8 Pro with some developer stuff added (I have read). Microsoft has dropped the keys down to three, I believe and also as you stated, when your TechNet account expires, your keys are no longer valid.

Sucks with the new restrictions....

If you request a key from the Windows 8 edition, it should give you a choice of Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro. Select the Pro key and download the Windows 8 ISO. The key will make it Pro

[Jeston Veteran]

As far as I can tell, there's only the one universal image you can download for Home and Pro and the only keys offered for it are for Pro, not including the Enterprise and other such versions. In other words, Home is not even offered.

Also, I'm pretty sure you still get 10 activations per key.

[Quillz]

I thought software on TechNet was provided for evaluation purposes only?

I believe they say it's for non-commercial purposes only. Which means running it on your own personal machine should be fine. But again, we're talking semantics. I don't think Microsoft cares you running afoul of the EULA so long as you aren't sharing the product keys with anyone.

[Joswin]

It's funny as I have been trying to get some more concrete info on TechNet subs for the past 4 days. Even going to the TechNet forums about it (but no one really answered properly - they just directed me to contact info for TechNet). I subscribed to TechNet Standard just the other day, with the intentions of getting the latest software to use and experiment with for a year (or longer if I renew). Non-commercial or production. Some stuff I would indend to use for the duration of the sub (1 year) such as Windows 8.

I was not aware of the full Terms of Use until after purchasing. I had googled around and had even found an article from Paul Thurrot citing it as a good way to do what I said (well much more he said it was a good way for multi-usage), which I considered a somewhat official view.

Anyway, frustrated with the responses from the TechNet Forums I shot off an email to TechNet themselves. About the Product Keys (activations) and the License Terms. I also asked them if this subscription was ONLY for "IT Professionals" as in big corporate customers. This is what I got as a response:

Product Keys:

As a TechNet Standard subscriber you receive a maximum number of 2 product keys per product for use during the Subscription year to be used during the software evaluation process.

Once the maximum allocation is exhausted, there will be no more keys available.

Many products allow installation and usage for up to 30 days without activation, therefore it is recommended to only activate a product, if necessary.

Each key can be used on a number of machines. Reinstalling on the original machine is of course possible; depending on the hardware configuration an activation may or may not be taken off the total number of activations. If the hardware components have not changed, the limit will not be decreased. If the key was already used on a second machine, this is not the case.

Licensing:

There are no time restrictions regards the software once installed. You may use the software until the expiry of your subscription. Once the subscription has expired, a de-installation of all products it however required.

It is correct that our target customer group is IT Professionals. TechNet subscriptions are intended for large scale test and evaluation purposes. Using the software in live environment or for regular personal use is not covered. If for example Windows 8 is installed on a machine, any software used on this Operating System may also only be used for test and evaluation.

A general overview of accepted usage can be found here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/subscriptions/dd362338.aspx

The TechNet licensing terms are explained here:

http://technet.micro...s/cc294422.aspx

Think thats about as detailed as I am going to get. So will ponder what I will do, I can still get a refund apparently as im within the 'cool off' period. I have not yet gotten my 'Subscriber ID' though email yet. I did input the Activation code online though - at the time I expected it to be instant (it is online after all....) but it informed me I would have to wait 2 business days. That was on Friday, so had all weekend to waste :/

Anyway hope that's of some use.

But again, we're talking semantics. I don't think Microsoft cares you running afoul of the EULA so long as you aren't sharing the product keys with anyone.

I am inclined to agree. They state 'evaluation' yet you can 'evaluate' for as long as you see fit (and the above states that you can evaluate for your entire subscription period if you wish). They give 'valid' evaluation purposes on their website and all of them fit into usage a normal PC user would encounter daily anyway, see for yourself....

TechNet Subscriptions software may be tested to determine the following:

Install/Uninstall ? Time and process required for full, partial or upgrade software install/uninstall processes and system integration.

Recovery ? Capacity for software to recover from crashes, hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.

Security ? Defining software?s ability to protect against unauthorized internal or external access.

Compatibility ? Gauging software performance in existing or new hardware, software, operating system or network environments.

Comparison ? Evaluating software to determine product strengths and weaknesses as compared to previous versions or similar products.

Usability ? Assessing satisfaction among end users, observing end user utilization and understanding user interaction scenarios.

Performance ? Ensuring software will perform as expected to requirements.

Stability ? Estimating individual software?s ability to perform consistently, relative to system demands.

Environment ? Determining software settings while software is being evaluated by end users in existing infrastructure.

The only problems I have seen is that you have to activate any products in the same geographic location as your subscription, else they may block your account for suspicious activity.