It looks like Visual Studio 2005 will barely make the cut off from being Visual Studio 2006, assuming the release schedule the SQL Server/Visual Studio products doesn't slip again. In other news, Developers wake up with feeling sore and used after checking out the pricing 'enhancements' with the new MSDN releases.
With the release of Visual Studio 2005 there will no longer be an MSDN professional or MSDN universal. They are being replaced, and technically speaking, there is no MSDN Universal. It is replaced by 3 partial solutions. There no longer seems to be a single developer solution that provides *everything* to a developer the way Universal Edition did before, so you better hope you work for a company with a Volume License MSDN Agreement so they can 'upgrade' to a plan that includes all three versions, and now there is also a 'Team Foundation CAL' what ever the hell that is. I have been a big fan of MSDN subscriptions up until this point, but I don't think I like this new development. Below is a list of the offerings for each version, listed as an upgrade from the previous version so you can compare. I tried to call MSDN Fullfillment to get additional information, but they had less idea what was going on then I did. I guess that's what kind of support you get when you pay over $2000 for a software package...
| MSDN Universal |
MSDN Enterprise |
MSDN Professional |
Version Upgrade
$2,299 US
Estimated Price
$2,799 US |
Version Upgrade
$1,599 US
Estimated Price
$2,199 US |
Version Upgrade
$899 US
Estimated Price
$1,199 US |
Transition Benefit:
Receive, at no additional cost, one of the Visual Studio 2005 Team Editions for Software Developers, Architects, or Testers. New MSDN subscriptions for these products have an estimated retail price of $5,469/yr and include a Team Foundation Client Access License with an estimated price of $499. |
Transition Benefit:
Receive, at no additional cost, the Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Developers. The new MSDN subscription for the Team Edition for Software Developers has an estimated retail price of $5,469/year and includes a Team Foundation Client Access License with an estimated value of $499. |
Transition Benefit:
Receive, at no additional cost, the Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition. Visual Studio 2005 Professional has an estimated retail price of $799. |
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Highlights
Continuously updated, priority access to:
- Technical content
- Guaranteed online support
- Phone incident support (4)
- Microsoft operating systems (limited use rights)
- Broad range of Windows Server System products (limited use rights)
- Comprehensive set of Microsoft developer tools, including Visual Studio. NET Enterprise Architect 2003
- Microsoft Productivity Applications
- Upon release, Visual Studio 2005 Professional and your choice of Visual Studio 2005
- Team Edition for Developers: Includes code analysis, coverage, profiling and unit testing tools along with a Team Foundation CAL.
- Team Edition for Architects: Includes Application, infrastructure, and deployment modeling tools along with a Team Foundation CAL.
- Team Edition for Testers: Includes advanced load testing tools along with a Team Foundation CAL.
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Highlights
Continuously updated, priority access to:
- Technical content
- Guaranteed online support
- Phone incident support (3)
- Microsoft operating systems (limited use rights)
- Five core Windows Server System products (limited use rights)
- Latest development tools, including Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer 2003
- Upon release, Visual Studio 2005 Professional and the Team Edition for Developers: Includes code analysis, coverage, profiling and unit testing tools along with a Team Foundation CAL.
|
Highlights
Continuously updated, priority access to:
- Technical content
- Guaranteed online support
- Phone incident support (2)
- Microsoft operating systems (limited use rights)
- Two core Windows Server System products (limited use rights)
- Latest development tools, including Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003
- Upon release, Visual Studio 2005 Professional: Includes highly productive, professional developer tools for individuals working alone or in small teams.
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