This month Microsoft reduced the number of product keys available to TechNet subscribers from 10 down to 5 for Professional Subscribers and 2 for Standard. Ouch!
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Microsoft Quietly Reduces TechNet Keys
- Thread starter John_Keck
- Start date
Two is all you get. Which to me sounds reasonable. What people dont' seem to understand is that Technet isn't a unlimited access to microsoft software service. It is access to microsoft software to test before you buy it.
You are NOT supposed to use it in production environments, your not NOT to use it in lab environments, you are NOT to use it for software environments. You are ONLY supposed to use it for learning and to make sure that a desired configuration will work out.
Maybe people, especially on here, look at technet as a way to pay a little per year and then get every microsoft product that they want for all of their home or office comptuers for perminant use, which isn't the case. So to get it back to what it is meant to be they cut down the number of keys.
Only thing i see wrong with this is that they didn't let customers know they were changing it and didn't even inform their own staff about it.
You are NOT supposed to use it in production environments, your not NOT to use it in lab environments, you are NOT to use it for software environments. You are ONLY supposed to use it for learning and to make sure that a desired configuration will work out.
Maybe people, especially on here, look at technet as a way to pay a little per year and then get every microsoft product that they want for all of their home or office comptuers for perminant use, which isn't the case. So to get it back to what it is meant to be they cut down the number of keys.
Only thing i see wrong with this is that they didn't let customers know they were changing it and didn't even inform their own staff about it.
This is pure stealing money from customers who already paid them.
And as always, you get the people posting, supporting Microsoft on this, and stating what they think the rules are (which are never correct). They are the same ones who accuse everyone else of being a pirate.... even though they paid for it.
Then people wonder why warez exists. I've lost count of how many times I have bought programs, only to get screwed by the company selling it.
And as always, you get the people posting, supporting Microsoft on this, and stating what they think the rules are (which are never correct). They are the same ones who accuse everyone else of being a pirate.... even though they paid for it.
Then people wonder why warez exists. I've lost count of how many times I have bought programs, only to get screwed by the company selling it.
CiscoInside
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This was covered already. But if you run out of keys, you can always request more. I can see why they are doing it, makes sense. If you are someone who uses it like they intend, and lets say you create a server on a VM for testing, installing it over 5 times, you can always call them.
Not a big deal, I never planned on using over 10 keys, these keys are for myself.
Not a big deal, I never planned on using over 10 keys, these keys are for myself.
Maybe for home users, and individual developers, but in a bigger environment with a bunch of developers working on the same code, I can see the need for more keys.
CiscoInside
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Did you activate each key over 10 times?
I think what the moral-high-horse people are missing is what Microsoft has chosen to do (or not) with regard to how people use TechNet keys: If we assume that a large number of enthusiasts such as the people here are misusing the keys as per policy that these evangelists are supposedly quoting, you'd think Microsoft would say something. Microsoft has spoken out about piracy on several occasions, and if this is no different, they should speak for themselves. I will not be bossed around by someone claiming to have interpreted the MS license unless that person is Microsoft.
For the record, here's the (probably) disputed line in the license: "You may not use it in a live operating, in a staging environment or with data that has not been sufficiently backed up."
(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/cc294422.aspx)
For the record, here's the (probably) disputed line in the license: "You may not use it in a live operating, in a staging environment or with data that has not been sufficiently backed up."
(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/cc294422.aspx)
CiscoInside
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By the way, looks like they did this to software that those idiots are selling on egay. A lot of my server software is still at 10.
I am taking all my keys anyways in case they decide to decrease it.
I am taking all my keys anyways in case they decide to decrease it.
CiscoInside
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Lol @ vista.. they left those at 10.
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Hmm, I've been planning on buying a technet account but just never got around to it. Guess there isn't as much need for it now 
I understand Microsoft's stance on this as there was a lot of abuse going on. It is similar to the Sony firmware upgrade that disabled jailbreaking. Though we may not like it, from a business perspective it makes sense.
Of course, the one major issue I have is that it should have only taken efffect during renewal or a new subscription. Changing the way the system works during the middle of a subscription is wrong IMO.
I understand Microsoft's stance on this as there was a lot of abuse going on. It is similar to the Sony firmware upgrade that disabled jailbreaking. Though we may not like it, from a business perspective it makes sense.
Of course, the one major issue I have is that it should have only taken efffect during renewal or a new subscription. Changing the way the system works during the middle of a subscription is wrong IMO.
CiscoInside
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Hmm, I've been planning on buying a technet account but just never got around to it. Guess there isn't as much need for it now
I understand Microsoft's stance on this as there was a lot of abuse going on. It is similar to the Sony firmware upgrade that disabled jailbreaking. Though we may not like it, from a business perspective it makes sense.
Of course, the one major issue I have is that it should have only taken efffect during renewal or a new subscription. Changing the way the system works during the middle of a subscription is wrong IMO.
Like the username
This was probably specifically to stop the resellers that were buying subscriptions to sell "key only" versions on ebay, CL, etc... Personally I never claimed more than 2 W7 keys and I think I only ever used the first across multiple installs and the activation server never seemed to care or flag it, likely since it always came from the same IP.
I don't think we'll ever get an official AND honest statement from MS on what Technet should be used for. Are they ok with people reselling keys? No, of course not. Are they ok with people getting a subscription and handing out free keys to friends and extended family? Again I think that's an easy no. Are they ok with [H] nerds like those that hang out here buying a subscription and loading out their own personal home labs and immediate (i.e. live in) family's computers with thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in software? Yeah they're probably cool with that. Mostly because some nerd running a hyper-v server at home with a couple copies of server 2008 R2 in various configurations serving his own personal email and maybe that of a few family members, serving files to a few media center PCs, while maybe used daily, isn't really a "production environment" compared to what that software was designed for. And lets face it, nerd doesn't have tens of thousands of dollars to spend to "play" with software like that, so without TN he'll either pirate it, or even worse, use *nix. With TN MS is getting ~$200 a year and mind share, which is what they really want, so long as when nerds friend says "hey man throw me a few keys" he says "bitch get your own subscription".
Damn now I want to get that outlook server working under hyper-v with WHS and domain controller in other VMs like I was trying to do before my servers second SATA controller fried itself...
I don't think we'll ever get an official AND honest statement from MS on what Technet should be used for. Are they ok with people reselling keys? No, of course not. Are they ok with people getting a subscription and handing out free keys to friends and extended family? Again I think that's an easy no. Are they ok with [H] nerds like those that hang out here buying a subscription and loading out their own personal home labs and immediate (i.e. live in) family's computers with thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in software? Yeah they're probably cool with that. Mostly because some nerd running a hyper-v server at home with a couple copies of server 2008 R2 in various configurations serving his own personal email and maybe that of a few family members, serving files to a few media center PCs, while maybe used daily, isn't really a "production environment" compared to what that software was designed for. And lets face it, nerd doesn't have tens of thousands of dollars to spend to "play" with software like that, so without TN he'll either pirate it, or even worse, use *nix. With TN MS is getting ~$200 a year and mind share, which is what they really want, so long as when nerds friend says "hey man throw me a few keys" he says "bitch get your own subscription".
Damn now I want to get that outlook server working under hyper-v with WHS and domain controller in other VMs like I was trying to do before my servers second SATA controller fried itself...
GushpinBob
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What pisses me off the most about this whole situation is that Microsoft failed to send any notification in any form to subscribers prior to the key reduction. Hell, even their technical support initially thought that there was an issue with the Technet website.
Yet, they'll go the last mile to pester you when your sub nears expiration.
Yet, they'll go the last mile to pester you when your sub nears expiration.
DeathFromBelow
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Microsoft's fascination with activation and licensing seems counterproductive to me. 90% of their income is set in stone (sales to OEM computer manufacturers). It seems to me that it would be smarter to put up with some piracy since it would protect their market dominance, punishing users just erodes market share and encourages piracy.
This seems to particularly apply to Technet users. They're a fraction of a fraction of the licenses they sell and they could easily pirate Windows if they wanted to. Cutting back their benefits and forcing them to pay more is a stupid idea.
Sounds to me like some marketing monkey needs to be strangled.
Your own "supporting commentary" withheld...your final statement denotes the entire problem.
Technet access was paid for, per terms posted and agreed to at time of purchase, and changes were made without notice (and as you note, to even their own employees). How would you like your car payment or house payment terms changed *after the agreement (contract) was signed* And without notice?? [Granted, not nearly the same level of finance involved, but you get my point I hope]
The level of liberty (and berth), much less an almost untouchable "immunity" that software companies are being allowed is well beyond the normal legal scope and comprehension.
Had this been been a B&M front for any business *except software*...you can bet there would be multiple lawsuits on a "bait and switch" (false advertising) basis.
Yes you can still call in for more...*sigh*...kind of an additional PITA hoop-set to have to jump through though.
Time is money. And there's alot to be said for the convenience of those additional keys being available right then and there.That's double the time on the phone from before. Short and simple: that means lost money in time that would've been productively used for testing/configuration.
Exactly. Software seems to to be the only product where the manufacturer tries to tell you how you must use what you have paid them for and changes those terms as they feel like it. They seem to have gotten awful greedy since the release of Office 2010.
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No it isnt? and yes the rules above ARE correct, go read the agreements from MS. You paid for the right to use the license in a said envrionment, not to buy into TechNet and then use the keys on any computer for any usage, so before you go making claims, you may wish to go back and read what you paid for before making assumptions you think are correct.
This is MS stopping people like you from buying technet and using the keys on all your family members computer thinking you paid for the right to do so.
warez exist because people want to steal, true warez exist for groups of people to compete with each other to see who can get something our faster or crack the latest DRM, groups never want their crap to reach you or P2P sites or anywhere on the internet, at least not the respectable groups, but now that all of these little wanna be groups pop out they want the fame for doing it and those are the idiots who get busted.
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it is also usually written in the contract that they have the right to change or modify said services with out notice.
if everytime you went into a B&M store and bought something and had to sign a contract i bet you they would have it written there as well.
I can not recall a single contract i have had to sign that did not state that the company has the right to modify said contract at any time with out notice to the user or requirement to have them agree to said changes.
Now, i think it is BS, i paid for X product, i should get X product at the time of signing said contract and any changes no matter how small or big, i should have to then agree to them for the change to be made. Companies have far to much power over their products these days cause they can afford to buy off the politician, consumers have so few rights any more...
LurkerLito
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I have to say this is complete BS. No notification at all for changes to a product/service you paid for with a given set of rules should be illegal. Every EULA that says they have a right to change it without PRIOR notification should be voided.
Fortunately I claimed and wrote down all my W7/Office 2010 keys months ago. I just hope that this doesn't hurt me when I do my Hyper-V, App-V, and TS testbed in a few months. Funny, this might hurt me when I finally do what the license intended for me to do.
I doubt I will renew after this year.
What pisses me off the most about this whole situation is that Microsoft failed to send any notification in any form to subscribers prior to the key reduction. Hell, even their technical support initially thought that there was an issue with the Technet website.
Yet, they'll go the last mile to pester you when your sub nears expiration.
Yea pretty shady they could have given us a heads up. This service is now worth less than half what I paid for it.
I should have gotten every key for every piece of software I may ever want to test. Oh well. I bet their subscriptions will be cut by 2/3 because of this.
Technet isn't for software developers. For that you need an MSDN license, and being primarily targeted at corporate customers even the MSDN OS package is significantly more expensive than a technet sub at $699.
The only things technet is approved for are:
1) Use Microsoft software to understand features to make usage, deployment or purchase recommendations or decisions.
2) Use Microsoft software with 3rd party applications to make usage, deployment or purchase recommendations or decisions on the Microsoft software.
3) Become familiar and keep up to date with the latest Microsoft software to support internal or external clients using or deploying the software.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/dd362338.aspx
But while you agree it's wrong ("Now, i think it is BS, i paid for X product, i should get X product at the time of signing said contract and any changes no matter how small or big, i should have to then agree to them for the change to be made.")...unless people start to say "No, that's not acceptable" in numbers large enough to make companies stand up and take notice, then we're back to square one. They'll do as they please.
You can also bet that those places don't get my business, as well as informed that it's due to their policy -not the product they're offering.
And people wonder why this is happening. I do read the terms (and I'm definately in the minority here -I do realize that *lol*) but the difference is, I vote with my dollar and my voice.
Perfect example, I just came out of Target. During the process of buying Metro 2033, they wanted my birthday to purchase the game because it's rated "M". I like that they enforce ratings, because way too many places don't care, they just want the dollar...but in the process of confirming my DOB, she asked me to remove my ID from my wallet (which I did) then she started to turn it over to scan my barcoded ID. I immediately stopped her and said "No ma'am. That's not going to happen." She stated that she'd have to get managements approval...and called one over. He keyed past it...voila! No further issue.
BUT, had I NOT stopped and spoke up, they (Target) are deciding for themselves without requesting nor informing me that they want to scan my ID. I'm sure she was just doing as she was instructed (like a mindless drone should). I'm NOT a mindless sheeple however. There's ZERO reason that they need to know *who* they sold to, as I paid cash. Only that I was "of age".
Bottom line, had that "company procedure" been "required" to complete the transaction, I would have been walking out of Target without a game. And they would've gone without that amount of money. For me, the same applies to Microsoft, or *any* other business. Either we both agree to the terms and have a successful transaction, or if either party does not agree, there is no transaction. Basic Business 101.
But that doesn't mean they (Target, et al) are not going to *try* and take advantage of the completely mindless idiots that are either not paying attention, are too pussified to speak up, or worse -just flat don't care about their rights. As Target (and MS and others) continually try and prove
And that's the problem in a nutshell!!!And folks that do this, either know this going in, and are content to use whatever it is within it's "obvious limitations" (IOW: it's not that important), or are incredibly stupid.
And this is why I do stand up and raise hell every time another right is trying to be removed or eroded. Just like at Target, if no one says anything, then hell yeah -the masses (of idiots/sheeple) will be fleeced/trampled. If you don't say anything, then YOU are part of the problem!
I can understand why they did this, but agree this could have been avoided with communication and/or different policy changes.
Working in IT I use technet for testing (mostly all in virtual and not on a production network). In several instances I require more than 2 clients to test GPO changes and etc. So this reduction does impact me.
My opionions is that Developers (employment verified), IT people (employment verified), and/or MS certified person should have access to technet. If they are abused your hiring company is notified and/or ceritifcations are revoked. I excluded students as they should have access to labs, and/or use trials.
Right now anyone can enlist in technet and do as they please with no real consequence outside of loosing the subscription. If it was tied to your certifications or job, people might think otherwise.
Working in IT I use technet for testing (mostly all in virtual and not on a production network). In several instances I require more than 2 clients to test GPO changes and etc. So this reduction does impact me.
My opionions is that Developers (employment verified), IT people (employment verified), and/or MS certified person should have access to technet. If they are abused your hiring company is notified and/or ceritifcations are revoked. I excluded students as they should have access to labs, and/or use trials.
Right now anyone can enlist in technet and do as they please with no real consequence outside of loosing the subscription. If it was tied to your certifications or job, people might think otherwise.
BladeVenom
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I agree. Only an evil monopoly could get away with ripping off their customers like that.
DeathPrincess
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Damnit, have to buy moar windows 7 Ultimate keys off ebay! quick! Theyll be shooting up in price!
heatlesssun
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Looks like MSDN is still the same, I just checked my key counts and they are still at ten. I'm not surprised, there is far too much abuse with this program and if people weren't going around publicly reselling the keys and flaunting it this wouldn't have happened.
I am seriously pissed reading this today. I've been a technet customer for years and even have two accounts (one through my work and one I personally pay for because I keep my home research/study separate from my job). I just paid my renewal the first week of September and now I find out my number of licenses gets severely restricted? Bullshit! I don't use my keys for my family/friends, I use them to test software or performing lab work.
I could see them doing it for any new customers from this point forward, there are a ton of people that abuse the program. Whenever a thread about buying a cheap ebay key shows up in the OS forum I'm always bitching about people reselling keys. This is really overstepping by being retroactive to all current customers. I don't request my keys unless I need them instead of just grabbing all 10 of each immediately so I am definitely getting hosed here.
I'll be calling MS on Monday and ask for a refund of my most recent renewal since it was less than 30 days. If they don't do it, I'll be filling a chargeback since they just made a major change to the terms.
I could see them doing it for any new customers from this point forward, there are a ton of people that abuse the program. Whenever a thread about buying a cheap ebay key shows up in the OS forum I'm always bitching about people reselling keys. This is really overstepping by being retroactive to all current customers. I don't request my keys unless I need them instead of just grabbing all 10 of each immediately so I am definitely getting hosed here.
I'll be calling MS on Monday and ask for a refund of my most recent renewal since it was less than 30 days. If they don't do it, I'll be filling a chargeback since they just made a major change to the terms.
From what I've read online, it seems like you shouldn't have too much of an issue getting a refund.
heatlesssun
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I understand your anger but its not future subscribers that are currently abusing the program.
heatlesssun
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Not really, you could buy one TechNet subsribtion and sell EACH key at significant profit.
heatlesssun
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Canceled makes sense but what about expired subscriptions? That's always been a cool thing about the program and if this also applied to expired subscriptions that would be WAY wrong.
From what I've read it seems both cancelled and expired, but it's mostly been anecdotal evidence in the form of a few complaints here and there, so I'm not sure.
I don't know if you can say that it's WAY wrong, as it's clearly a service sold as a subscription. Even though it's been nice, even if they did disable the key activations after your subscription ends, it seems like a valid (albeit asshole-ish) move.