Buying Visual Studio 2010 Professional

Rkootknir

Rkootknir

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I've been using the Express editions of VS 2010 C++ & C # to do some (relatively simple) development work and until a while ago I hadn't run into any of the limitations of the Express editions compared to the Pro editions.

I'm now trying to buy VS 2010 Professional. What I've found is that it's almost impossible to find it online in SA. Here are the two sites that do have it:

http://www.nivo.co.za/#buy~microsoft.visual.studio.2010.professional.fpp.dvd.~p21234 - R8 479
http://www.takealot.com/imports/moreusa/visual-studio-2010-professional,b0038kto8s - R6 339 (US Amazon store import)

Does anybody know of any other sites where I can get this (or even better) a site that allows you to buy and download?

Microsoft Store (www.microsoftstore.com) does have a downloadable version for $500 but it doesn't look like you can buy it there from South Africa (or am I wrong?).
 
You normally purchase the product license from a Microsoft dealer (e.g. Datacentrix) & then download the product.

If you are in a hurry you can download the 90-day trial version of VS2010 from the Microsoft MSDN website: if memory serves correctly [not guaranteed!!] all you have to do to convert it to a legal copy is to enter the key.

You can also get the beta of VS2011 in the same way.

BTW, with VS2011 due later this year be sure to purchase the MSDN subscription version - that way you get the upgrade to VS2011 for 'free'.
 
Interestingly enough, you can buy the upgrade version, R5 985 on Nivo. Upgrade eligibility reads as follows:

To qualify for upgrade pricing, you must be a licensed user of one of the following products: an earlier version of Microsoft Visual Studio, or any other developer tool (including free developer tools, such as Visual Studio Express Editions or Eclipse).
Click to expand...

Beats me why they have a full version at all :confused: BTW, I joined the MS WebsiteSpark program 2 years ago, gives you free software for three years at no charge, there are other initiatives also for start-ups and students.
 
Thanks for info. Regarding this:
BTW, with VS2011 due later this year be sure to purchase the MSDN subscription version - that way you get the upgrade to VS2011 for 'free'.
Click to expand...
Does this mean that if I buy e.g. the "Visual Studio Professional with MSDN" subscription for $1200 (http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/buy.aspx) I will get the upgrade to VS2011? I'm assuming it will only work if VS2011 actually gets released during the one year subscription?

I'm not really a professional developer. I do in-house development for a smallish financial consulting firm so I'm not really too informed about what the process for getting a license is. I would also probably want the license for myself rather than have the company pay so that I can continue using it even at a different company (because it's locked to a developer not the firm according to MS).

So, it will be a relatively big expense for me and I don't want to screw myself by misunderstanding something. :)
 
tnero said:
DONT BUY IT!

Get an MSDN, Action Pack or BizSpark subscription.

You get way more bang for your buck.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/hh442910.aspx

You'll have to do the googling but for sure don't buy VS on its own.
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As far as I know those Technet subscriptions are only for testing purposes? I wouldn't be allowed to develop something that will be used in a production environment using one of them. Or am I wrong?
 
TechNet says they're for evaluation purposes and not for production. Unless you're installing on your servers that are running your applications, could pull a "perpetual evaluation" :)
 
I don't know about Technet but with Action Pack, you basically lease the software from Microsoft which means you pay an annual fee of R2500 I think and they supply you with 10 licenses of Windows, Office, etc. Not sure about Visual Studio though. VS wasn't included back when we subscribed to it.

MSDN is much more expensive and you get the same licenses as with Action Pack if I remember correctly, but more software. It basically includes all Microsoft software, servers, etc. With MSDN though, if you cancel your subscription, you keep the licenses you have, still for internal use only, and obviously you won't be upgraded to the latest versions as released.

In both cases, you can use the licenses in production environment, provided that it is on your own network / company. E.g. you cannot use the Windows Server license on a server located at Hetzner or install Office for someone not working in your company.
My information is a couple of years old, but I doubt they would have changed it.
 
rrh said:
If you are in a hurry you can download the 90-day trial version of VS2010 from the Microsoft MSDN website: if memory serves correctly [not guaranteed!!] all you have to do to convert it to a legal copy is to enter the key.
Click to expand...

Correct.
 
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