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Technet vs OEM vs Retail

J

jebo_4jc

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - April 2011
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I was considering buying a Technet subscription for a while (even though personal home users are not the target market for that service) because I am constantly tweaking/upgrading/re-installing the 4+ PCs I have in my house, and I thought it would be very helpful to have access to the various software licenses Technet provides. However, from what I can tell, Windows Home Server is not available via Technet, nor are the 64 bit versions of the Vista OS.
Plus, I already have access to Vista Business 32bit, as well as Office Enterprise, as well as an OEM copy of WHS. So maybe, I only need to buy a copy of Home Premium or Ultimate for my HTPC and (possibly) a 64 bit copy of Ultimate for my main PC. Home Premium OEM can be found for $49 and Ultimate OEM is $149. Technet is $300 a year.
However, I've heard only the Retail versions come with the 64-bit option, and those are more expensive.
Arg. It's hard to decide what to do.
 
jebo_4jc said:
I was considering buying a Technet subscription for a while (even though personal home users are not the target market for that service) because I am constantly tweaking/upgrading/re-installing the 4+ PCs I have in my house, and I thought it would be very helpful to have access to the various software licenses Technet provides. However, from what I can tell, Windows Home Server is not available via Technet, nor are the 64 bit versions of the Vista OS.
Plus, I already have access to Vista Business 32bit, as well as Office Enterprise, as well as an OEM copy of WHS. So maybe, I only need to buy a copy of Home Premium or Ultimate for my HTPC and (possibly) a 64 bit copy of Ultimate for my main PC. Home Premium OEM can be found for $49 and Ultimate OEM is $149. Technet is $300 a year.
However, I've heard only the Retail versions come with the 64-bit option, and those are more expensive.
Arg. It's hard to decide what to do.
Click to expand...

Retail allows you to get the 64-bit discs (or vice versa) for $10 from Microsoft, whereas if you buy an OEM Vista, you have to pick either x86 or x64 at the time of purchase (though I guess even the OEM keys are also architecture agnostic).

There's also the more expensive MSDN, the cheapest of which gets you access to almost all the relevant Microsoft OSes. No WHS, but last time I checked, you can get all 64-bit versions of the OSes in the list. Though of course, the purpose of MSDN is for developing/testing applications on them.
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/aa718657.aspx
 
jebo_4jc said:
I was considering buying a Technet subscription for a while (even though personal home users are not the target market for that service) because I am constantly tweaking/upgrading/re-installing the 4+ PCs I have in my house, and I thought it would be very helpful to have access to the various software licenses Technet provides. However, from what I can tell, Windows Home Server is not available via Technet, nor are the 64 bit versions of the Vista OS.
Plus, I already have access to Vista Business 32bit, as well as Office Enterprise, as well as an OEM copy of WHS. So maybe, I only need to buy a copy of Home Premium or Ultimate for my HTPC and (possibly) a 64 bit copy of Ultimate for my main PC. Home Premium OEM can be found for $49 and Ultimate OEM is $149. Technet is $300 a year.
However, I've heard only the Retail versions come with the 64-bit option, and those are more expensive.
Arg. It's hard to decide what to do.
Click to expand...

newegg shows home premium system builder for $110, i'd be very suspicious of somebody selling it for less than half that price.
 
Coupon code TMSAM08 will get you $100 off a TechNet subscription until May if you are in the US. No home server, but yes to 64 bit Vista, plus all versions of 2008 server, 2003 server, and XP. Plus Office 2003 and 2007. Plus, we already have SP1.
 
xxEIEIOxx said:
Coupon code TMSAM08 will get you $100 off a TechNet subscription until May if you are in the US. No home server, but yes to 64 bit Vista, plus all versions of 2008 server, 2003 server, and XP. Plus Office 2003 and 2007. Plus, we already have SP1.
Click to expand...
I would have loved to see Home Server in my TechNet listing...would have save me $180.
 
I have Technet plus download sub. 64 Bit Ultimate is available and I've been running it since RTM.

/edit and who gives a flying shit about Home Server, you get full use of Server 2008 RC1 until the release to manufacturer.
 
The full Server 2008 version has been on there close to two weeks now. It showed up much sooner than Vista SP1 did.
 
Server 2003 and 2008 are both options on TechNet. And with all the articles I have seen today about data corruption on Home Server, I would go with 2003/2008, depending on preference.
 
You'll be happily surprised next time you do visit the site, to find out Microsoft is starting to make available Vista discs with SP1 included. The x86 versions are there now, and x64 versions are on the way.
 
ambientZ said:
newegg shows home premium system builder for $110, i'd be very suspicious of somebody selling it for less than half that price.
Click to expand...
woops. i was thinking of home basic on sale at microcenter for $50. you're right, home premium is about $100
And thanks for the coupon code, that $100 might have pushed me off the fence and into Technet.
That's for a 1 year sub right, how much will it cost next year?

Nasty_Savage said:
/edit and who gives a flying shit about Home Server, you get full use of Server 2008 RC1 until the release to manufacturer.
Click to expand...
I do. WHS is good for people like me with zero experience with a server os who needs the backup etc capabilities.
 
Can anyone clarify what the "download sub" is? I'm assuming you would be downloading ISOs of the OS anyway, so what exactly is this?
 
Inf0 said:
Can anyone clarify what the "download sub" is? I'm assuming you would be downloading ISOs of the OS anyway, so what exactly is this?
Click to expand...

If I understand what you are asking, you mean the download only subscription for TechNet? That means they give you online only access to the TechNet site, where you download ISOs of everything. With the other subscriptions, you receive disks in the mail as well.
 
on msdn, if I subscribe to the cheapest option which is the OS one, are they time limited ? or are they just like retail versions that once you download and install you get a key and it works for years ? or if your subscription to msdn runs out does the OS stop functioning ?

anyone got any ideas, as i think 700$ is a scoop for all the different versions if they arent limited in anyway.
 
Nope they are all retail keys. Nothing stops if you don't renew. Except your ability to download new stuff. Just download everything you want while it's active, and export your keys.
 
cool, i like the way $700 converts into £560, meh, but I have a plan :) say am in the usa when I buy it or get a buddy from the states to go through the buying process for me thus saving a couple hundred quid :)
 
Robstar said:
No it's not.

I let technet expire & I was sent a letter to uninstall all software & destroy all media.

I did. Run Linux & FreeBSD now.
Click to expand...

http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1803
Post #21
"Ed Bott says:
Fred, there’s a Product Key page where you get to request keys for individual products. Each key is good for 10 separate activations on different hardware, and the license is perpetual, meaning it doesn’t expire if your subscription runs out. The reason to renew your subscription is to get access to new releases, not to maintain access to old ones."

I hope this is not misinformation, but it is not the only place I have seen this claim.
 
xxEIEIOxx said:
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1803
Post #21
"Ed Bott says:
Fred, there’s a Product Key page where you get to request keys for individual products. Each key is good for 10 separate activations on different hardware, and the license is perpetual, meaning it doesn’t expire if your subscription runs out. The reason to renew your subscription is to get access to new releases, not to maintain access to old ones."

I hope this is not misinformation, but it is not the only place I have seen this claim.
Click to expand...

Unless the MSDN sub has changed then it's only valid for while you are paying each year.
If you let it lapse then you no longer have a valid license for any of the installed products. And if you try to run longer or install on a new system then the Genuine Advantage Activation will bomb out on you.
And unless Ed Bott is directly connected to Microsoft - I'd make a phone call and get verification.
 
rodsfree said:
Unless the MSDN sub has changed then it's only valid for while you are paying each year.
If you let it lapse then you no longer have a valid license for any of the installed products. And if you try to run longer or install on a new system then the Genuine Advantage Activation will bomb out on you.
And unless Ed Bott is directly connected to Microsoft - I'd make a phone call and get verification.
Click to expand...

MSDN and Technet are different, but I still agree with your point. I would get direct confirmation from Microsoft.

I will not be letting mine run out because I enjoy getting the new software all the time. I think tinkering with the software is fun as a hobby. I quit being a network admin, but that doesn't mean I don't like servers and routers. :)

I would only get TechNet if you want the servers (SQL, Exchange, and Server 2003/2008.) Otherwise, you should just get OEM x64.
 
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