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Getting Visual Studio.NET for free HOWTO

Started by R. Andrew Lamonica, 2004-01-19T16:38:41-06:00 (Monday)

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R. Andrew Lamonica

Step 1.  Determine your eligibility.
If you are in a CS class this semester then you qualify to download one or more of the following pieces of software for use on one home machine.  If you are in the department but not taking a class you are not eligible.  If you are not in the CS department and not taking a class you should talk to your own department.

Visual Studio.NET Pro. 2003 (with Oct. 2003 MSDN)
Visual Studio Pro. 6 (with MSDN 6)
OneNote 2003
Access 2003
Project Professional 2003
Visio Professional 2003
Windows XP with SP1 (if you are using one of the pieces of software that requires XP)

Note that Office is not included just the parts of it directly useful to developers.

Step 2.  Tell your teacher you are interested.
If your teacher has not already asked students to submit their names and e-mail addresses for the inclusion in ELMS (Electronic License Management System) then tell him/her you are interested and provide the information needed to verify your enrollment.  
All CS teachers have been instructed on the correct procedure for adding students to ELMS, however, if there are any questions teachers can e-mail them to elmsadmin at solar.cs.siue.edu.

Step 3. Get a message from Microsoft.
Within 48 hours of your teacher completing the verification and submission steps required, you will receive an e-mail at the account you gave him/her from Microsoft.  The e-mail will contain instructions on how to initially login to ELMS and how to change your temporary password.  If you already have an account you will not receive an e-mail but your account will be reactivated without a two day wait.  If you use a SMAP blocker you should check that the message was not blocked.  This could happen and it will make it hard to get your account if you never get the e-mail.

Step 4.  Download from home or the CS lab.
You are responsible for your own download and install.  This includes checking that your computer can support the software and making sure all the packages are up to date with the latest security patches.  For example, if you have Windows ME, 98 or 95 Visual Studio.NET will not install.
If you have trouble downloading from home or if you have a slow internet connection it is recommended that you bring blank CD-R’s to school and download the software in the CS Tutor Lab (EB1036) on machine CS16.  CS16 has a CD burner in it and you can use that to move the software home.  The download on campus is very fast as the host for the software is in our server closet, so you should not need more than an hour if you know how to use a CD burner.

Step 5.  Account Expiration.
If you plan to use the MSDNAA you should do so at the beginning of the semester.  As the semester draws to a close we will stop creating new accounts (without warning all the students) and as soon as the semester ends your account will expire.  If you wait to the last moment and your download fails we will not extend your account so you may try again.  This would go against the spirit of the license we signed with Microsoft if not the letter.

R. Andrew Lamonica

Common Mistakes for users of ELMS:

1. Asking the ELMS administrators for an account (only your CS teacher can clear you for an account.)

2. Trying to install Visual Studio on a non-NT based system like Windows ME.

3. Throwing out the account creation instructions with your junk-mail.

4. Throwing out a software Activation Key e-mail with your junk-mail.

5. Trying to download from an unreliable connection and running out of retries.

6. Waiting until the last week of the semester to download the software (this happens more often then logic would dictate as reasonable.)

Chris Swingler

QuoteCommon Mistakes for users of ELMS:

1. Asking the ELMS administrators for an account (only your CS teacher can clear you for an account.)

Hmm... my account is currently deactivated (I don't need it activated), so I'll attempt to log in.

I don't know my password, so I'll ask the system to find it.

And then... we get this:
QuoteIf you have recently changed courses, it's possible that you no longer qualify for access to this system, and as a result your account may have been disabled. If you are unsure, please contact the MSDNAA Program Administrator on your campus, or contact the administration office for your department. Your MSNDAA Program Administrator's contact information can be found under the Support section.

So, let's check the Support Section.
QuoteGeneral MSDNAA Program Information
If you have general questions regarding the MSDN Academic Alliance Program you can send email to R. Andrew Lamonica, visit http://www.cs.siue.edu, or call (618) 650-2398.
.

That explains why you get emails asking to get accounts activated. :)

--Beanie
Christopher Swingler
CAOS Web Administrator

R. Andrew Lamonica

Unfortunately, I cannot change the wording on a site run by Microsoft.  This is why I have asked all the teachers to talk to their classes and why I posted a HOWTO.  

Guest

The Windows XP Pro that is available to download.  Is this a full version of Pro?

Chris Swingler

Christopher Swingler
CAOS Web Administrator

bill corcoran

you should read the license agreement.  "full" is kind of a relative term.
-bill

Guest

Obviously, they will not let us develop for-profit software with the free version, but besides that, what part of full is misleading?

Chris Swingler

I think bill is referring to the lack of privacy/rights/etc that the Microsoft EULA supplies.
Christopher Swingler
CAOS Web Administrator

R. Andrew Lamonica

A good point.  If you want the free software from Microsoft, you must give SIUE your name.  SIUE is then contractually obligated to provide Microsoft information about the usage of the program, including the names of the participants if they are requested (although the one form I have seen only requests numbers and account names).

bill corcoran

well, i said "full" was relative, not misleading.  it will probably be functionally equivalent to you (though somehow the msdnaa version of .Net has been known to deactivate certain illegitimate versions of software...)  and when i recommended reading the eula, i meant just that.  because the short answer is, yes it's a full version of windows xp, but there's more to it than that.  the eula for the elms program is actually different than if you bought a regular commercial license.  a few things noticed when i read it just about a year ago (i doubt it's changed) are:

- only YOU are licensed to use it.  at all.  so, technically letting family and friends use your computer would be a no-no.  obviously, there really is no way to enforce this and it probably wouldn't stop most people anyway.

- even though you are licensed to keep the software forever, you are only licensed to update it while you are a part of the elms program.

- you are only allowed to install it once.

i wanted to put windows xp on my family's machine, but it wouldn't do any good if they weren't allowed to use it.  and what good is keeping it if you can't get the weekly security updates?  also, my experience with windows has been that it almost regularly requires a reinstall.  it's a hassle.

just a couple of things i noticed, or maybe even misinterpreted.  there is actually information hidden in those annoyingly long legal prompts.  but don't take it from me, read it all yourself.
-bill

R. Andrew Lamonica

This page (http://www.msdnaa.com/EULA/NA/English.aspx) includes a copy of the current license agreement.  Of most interest is the part at the bottom entitled:

Amendment to Master End-User License Agreement for
Microsoft Software, The Microsoft Developer Network Subscription
(For the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance Program)

This part includes the changes from the master agreement (all users sign when using MS software) that apply to the MSDNAA program.  All the changes seem harmless.  For example, the part of the license that allows the re-assignment of unused products is removed preventing students for signing over software to anyone else.  Many of the changes apply to SIUE not the students themselves.  I do not see the part about family members not being allowed to use the software, but it seems reasonable.  It makes sense that the development packages we provide are for the sole use of students and not their parents.  As far as the operating system is concerned, it says very clearly in the agreement you sign when you download it that it is only to be used on a computer that otherwise would not be able to run one of the other pieces of software.  This is a consequence of the fact that we are only licensed to distribute development software.  So if you are trying to use the OS by itself on a family computer you are in violation already.  

As to the time limit mentioned, you are correct, after you are no longer taking a course you may not reinstall the software.  In theory, you should probably not use it either, but my reading of the agreement did not find any statements directly forbidding use.

The following page has a â€Ã...“acceptable and unacceptableâ€Ã, chart of usage that I found informative.  http://www.msdnaa.com/programusage.aspx

In the end, I would encourage CS students to take advantage of this offer.  We pay for it once a year and our cost is substantially less then the cost of the few hundred of copies students would have to buy on their own.  However, if the extra restrictions bother you then it is your choice to buy your own software or use open source or free substitutes.  I have already had a student tell me on the phone that the MSDNAA was too inconvenient and that he would be paying for his copy at the bookstore.  I am curtain Microsoft will appreciate his business.  

Chris Swingler

Quoteor use open source or free substitutes

I'd love to... but the requirements in most CS courses state that the program must compile under Microsoft Visual Studio.  I guess I could develop my program using Vim/gcc/KDevelop/Dev-C++ and then go over to the EB and make sure it compiles, but that's a lot of extra work.  I'm all for changing the requirements, and making the programs compile under gcc (but one can still write them in Visual Stuido if they must :).

--Beanie
Christopher Swingler
CAOS Web Administrator

Guest

In CS 340 you'll switch over to Unix and gcc. Most likely in CS 414 and 312 too.


bill corcoran

hrm, i was pretty sure i had a clear grasp of those restrictions in particular, but it may have changed being that it has been a calendar year.

i would rather avoid running microsoft software altogether, but for classes like cs275 and cs321, VS .Net is pretty much a requirement.  now, this brings about some mixed feelings.  on one hand, i am grateful that i don't have to purchase xp and/or vs.net.  on the other hand, i am disappointed that i might have to without the program.  but, i guess that's how it goes.

rather than soil my own machine with xp & vs .net, i wanted to put it on my family's machine, since they are unfortunately microsoft dependent anyway.  this way i would be able to use it to get my classwork done, but not be as inconvenienced by having to accommodate it on my personal desktop.  i ended up installing it on an old 7 GB drive for the semester that has long since been reclaimed.

but, i have a new plan now.  i want to run bochs on one of my linux machines, and then ssh -X over from my main machine.  that way, i don't have to run XP natively, but i can still use VS .NET and all the work will be done on a seperate machine so i don't have to take much of a hit on my main computer.
-bill

R. Andrew Lamonica

MSDNAA Guide page 22 FAQ Question 7.

Have you considered the privacy issues involved in the record keeping?

We feel that personal privacy is of the utmost importance, and we would never ask you for records of who checked out software.  We only need to know how many students have downloaded or checked out software.  We will never ask you for the personal information of students and faculty.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have concerns about personal privacy.