• A Great friend to the HardForum with a great kid that he is trying to get a scholorship to continue his schooling. Please give hime a vote! Only 24 hours left! Thanks.
    If you have an VOTE FOR KEENAN!

Free Microsoft Windows Server 2008 / SQL Server 2008 / Visual Studio 2008

I think you can request or update it to 64bit free. The keys are the same I believe.
 
Keys may be the same between 32/64-bits, but MS send you a 64-bit disc only if you brought Retail Home Premium. When you request for a 64-bit disc, you have to provide them with a key. I'd imagine they can tell which version from the key.
 
It was definitely interesting to MS products fail at a MS event. The Vista Ultimate was a nice addition to the package though. Food was cheesy....Speaking of which, how are they gonna serve breakfast and lunch in one box and sandwiches with no cheese at that.

BTW, I'm sorry I didn't catch up with any other [H] there. Next time
 
It was definitely interesting to MS products fail at a MS event. The Vista Ultimate was a nice addition to the package though. Food was cheesy....Speaking of which, how are they gonna serve breakfast and lunch in one box and sandwiches with no cheese at that.

BTW, I'm sorry I didn't catch up with any other [H] there. Next time

Sucks for you. Breakfast and lunch were not together the LA event. And the sandwich I had did have cheese. And it was a damn good sandwich at that.
 
what did you guys have put on your badge when you signed up, i told them i was a systems engineer and made up a company is that ok?
 
well, I actually work in an organization with over 5000 users and I support remote sites. So I just told the truth. Although in the past, I would have been a Senior Systems Engineer!
 
what did you guys have put on your badge when you signed up, i told them i was a systems engineer and made up a company is that ok?
I didn't have to fake a title but I'd imagine that they don't actually do any sort of reference check. You don't do anything when you arrive, they scan your email confirmation and print a badge for you. If you are talking about just appearing without pre-registering, I don't know.

The food wasn't bad for what it was, the chicken sandwich was kinda plain but they had plenty of snacks and a Milky Way bar! WTF was up with the mini orange juice, and the lack of coffee towards the afternoon? The hotel resturant selling Starbucks coffee smelled like they were brewing with dirty bath water that'd been sitting for a few days.
 
I didn't have to fake it either, but I work where I wouldn't have needed to anyway.
 
well i could just say i am looking to start my own company, anyways i can't wait i am doing the IT Pro path , looks like it has some cool stuff and 1 year trial of server 2008 is more than enough for learning and a fre version of vista is awesome, also i could learn how to install and setup an SQL server :)
 
Wireless access required an account, I think you may have had to pay the hotel for access. One guy had a laptop out towards the end and seemed pretty frustrated.
 
For those that went, should I bring a laptop?

Never really used my notebook at an ms event but have had it with me a few times. Last time I used it was because I had a question on how to do something and had the guy show up(have server installed on my notebook).

Wireless access required an account, I think you may have had to pay the hotel for access. One guy had a laptop out towards the end and seemed pretty frustrated.

Yea generaly you will not have a free wifi for these events. I have an evdo card so I just use that.
 
They had free wifi at the LA event. Oddly, they even had a few support people there to help you if you a problem getting on.
 
I saw someone using a mac pro, and it wasn't running windoze. I don't get these people. Just like I don't get the people who go to an Apple store, sit in on a workshop, and have their Dell laptop open :rolleyes:
 
Yeah, the fact you have to pay for wifi is bootleg, but that's NYC. You have to pay for everything here. I did go outside and hop on the Starbucks wifi from across the street.
 
swatbat said:
Yea generaly you will not have a free wifi for these events. I have an evdo card so I just use that.
Yeah, I used my treo with a wifi card running a java proxy to do a little surfing on my Ipod touch. The treo renders the pages but not as fast and definately not as legible as the ipod. I got pretty good data reception inside the convention hall.
 
posting this from my free Vista Ultimate SP1 :D

edit: wow, after a few days, this Vista ain't half bad............
 
when are you suppose to get the confirmation email? i got the one from back when i first signed up but they said they would send another one out a week before the event?
 
when are you suppose to get the confirmation email? i got the one from back when i first signed up but they said they would send another one out a week before the event?

I'm still waiting for my confirmation email for the Detroit event on Tuesday as well.
 
Went to the Cleveland event today...pretty nice event.
No questions(Thank God!) and no BSOD's or crashes.
The breakfast in a bag was lame but the bag was decent.
All the software was nice and I actually did get pretty excited about some of the new features.
 
The breakfast in a bag was lame but the bag was decent.

Bag? I went to the NYC event, and we got food in a cardboard box........... the thing online said it would be in a cooler, but there was no cooler to be found............ the Vista Ultimate made up for the cooler, though.......... I thought the sandwiches from the NYC Sheraton were quite tasty, actually.............. I didn't see any breakfast at the NY event though............. maybe it was in the lobby by the coffee........
 
Breakfast?!? You missed the whole point, the coffee is the breakfast!
 
I'm really disappointed.
I attempted to order the 64 bit media for Vista Ultimate today and it wouldn't allow it.
Dat sux M$!

:mad:
 
I'm really disappointed.
I attempted to order the 64 bit media for Vista Ultimate today and it wouldn't allow it.
Dat sux M$!

:mad:
Yup. I fired off an email to Microsoft about the 64bit version as soon as I got home. This is their response:
Microsoft said:
Hello Tesfaye,

Thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately, the free version of Windows Vista offered through this campaign is 32 bit only. The 64 bit version is now available through retail outlets. For more information about the different editions of Windows vista, please visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/editions/default.mspx

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please let us know and have a great day.

Regards,

Stephanie
Windows Vista SP1 Registration Administrator
 
I have a retail copy of ultimate, I'll see if this key works with 64-bit

From what the MS registration table said, the only timebombed software in the package was the forfront security trial package. I think that what MS did was call it trial though it doesn't stop working, just to save us taxes in probably close to 3 grand in software.

(Server 2008 Enterprise with Hyper-V is going to cost an arm and a leg)
 
I went to the one in Boston , got vista sp1 32bit and 1 year trial of server 2008 enterprise also SQL server 2008 and visual studio but I have no need for them, the event was awesome.

Is the server 2008 only a 1 year trial?
 
I attended the event in Detroit today, and got the typical server 2008, sql 2008, VS 2008 standard, and vista ultimate. and yes, we got the breakfast/lunch, and it came in a pretty nice lunch cooler also. the SQL is a CTP (community technology preview) whatever that means. and the server 2008 is a special evaluation license (but that did come with both the 32-bit and the 64-bit discs, as did the SQL server CTP
 
I attended the event in Detroit today, and got the typical server 2008, sql 2008, VS 2008 standard, and vista ultimate. and yes, we got the breakfast/lunch, and it came in a pretty nice lunch cooler also. the SQL is a CTP (community technology preview) whatever that means. and the server 2008 is a special evaluation license (but that did come with both the 32-bit and the 64-bit discs, as did the SQL server CTP

You should find a paper with a PIN to register for a full copy of SQL Standard when it RTMs in your package. I forget the site you go to but it'll tell you.
 
I went to the one in Boston , got vista sp1 32bit and 1 year trial of server 2008 enterprise also SQL server 2008 and visual studio but I have no need for them, the event was awesome.

Is the server 2008 only a 1 year trial?
Yes, it's a 1 year trial.
I went to the Boston one too, I was in the IT Pro Track, I especially enjoyed the info in session #2 (Virtualization and Your Infrastructure), especially about Hyper-V and Terminal Services RemoteApp...

I've got a question about the 1yr trial of Server 2008;
If I install this on a VM, can I go an install it on a physical server too, or will it know the license is already being used?
And as far as the 1yr goes, if I format and reinstall does the timer reset? What happens after 1yr, can you not use it anymore AT ALL :eek::confused:
 
I went to the Boston one too, I was in the IT Pro Track, I especially enjoyed the info in session #2 (Virtualization and Your Infrastructure), especially about Hyper-V and Terminal Services RemoteApp...

I've got a question about the 1yr trial of Server 2008;
If I install this on a VM, can I go an install it on a physical server too, or will it know the license is already being used?
And as far as the 1yr goes, if I format and reinstall does the timer reset? What happens after 1yr, can you not use it anymore AT ALL :eek::confused:

i think MS keeps track of the date you activated it

and i did the IT Pro track also, i stayed until the end all the sessions were good but i had no idea what was going on when they showed visual studio 2008 and IIS7 lol
 
Signed up for Edison, NJ on June 3rd. Any other [H] people going?

Excited to hear about a free copy of Vista, I've been needing one. Actually, if anyone out there has an extra they don't need I could really use it for my new build next week. Anyone? Please? :-D

-Jade
 
the most annoying thing about the giveaways was that the vista version was 32-bit, and i dont have a 64-bit disc, and you cannot get one from MS, because "you get both when you purcahse vista ultimate" i tried to use the alternate media, and that was a nogo. i tried calling them, and the furthest that i got was the event complaint line, no real help there, darn it there must be a way to purchase just the media! what do you do if your media becomes damaged or is destroyed?
 
Just came back from this... nice event, a lot of people attended here in Houston.

I did the Infrastructure IT Pro track and had a good time... the keynote speaker was OK, but the guy doing the rest of the stuff (John Weston) did a great job and kept things very light, joking with members of the audience from time to time.
 
Back
Top