Unisa and dreamspark

I

Ipwn 4

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I received an invite today to activate my dream spark account and :wtf:

How can all this software be free? What is the catch here? I get that it is all for lab use but still, the action pack does not come close to what is available for download here...

For those who don't know what I'm on about, dream spark is showing that there is a total of 166 applications available for download, some which caught my attention :

Server 2012
Exchange 2010
Visual Studio 2012
Windows 8
Visio 2013
Office 2007

and loads more!
 
I've got legitimate versions of most of [what I'm using] those already, but won't say no to another license key.
Should I mention you may only use this for lab or private purposes? No commercial use ;)
 
I also got this yesterday and had a serious :wtf: moment.... there must be a catch. It is probably educational licenses. But I read on Wikipedia, that you can legally make use of the software even after you have completed your studies...
 
Yeah, MS is awesome like that! I'm a member of BizSpark - I get all of my MS development software for free. BizSpark is aimed at entrepreneurs.

I dont think BizSpark covers commercial use, not sure though.
 
Hmmmm... then whoever wrote this didn't read the EULA:

The software can be used in coursework and personal non-commercial projects. Students may continue to use these products for non-commercial purposes, even after they graduate. Even after graduation students may receive all free updates to the software, such as security updates and service packs, that are available to everyone through Windows Update.[citation needed]
Click to expand...

Probably why Citation is still needed :p
 
The catch is that when you move into the commercial world after your studies you will be hooked on the software and continue to use it. Not a big problem as most companies use this anyway.
 
Yeah in my honours year last year my entire class used Dreamspark to get all the microsoft environments (VS/Silverlight/WP 7 SDK) I will say that it is delightful but I do not remember being able to get Windows 7/8
 
Can any UNISA student register for dreamspark? When searching the dreamspark site, it only picks up UNISA - School of Computing. Am currently doing my honours in business management (ie school of economic and management sciences)..
 
Kayoss said:
Can any UNISA student register for dreamspark? When searching the dreamspark site, it only picks up UNISA - School of Computing. Am currently doing my honours in business management (ie school of economic and management sciences)..
Click to expand...

Yes, I believe you can as long as you use your UNISA account.
 
Kayoss said:
Great, thanks..
Click to expand...

Don't take my word for it. But I doubt they check anything but your email address when you register on dreamspark. I managed to do it while being registered for mathematics. Hell, I wasn't even registered at UNISA anymore.
 
I got a bizspark account, and you can use the tools for commercial purposes.
 
werfie said:
Hmmmm... then whoever wrote this didn't read the EULA:
Probably why Citation is still needed :p
Click to expand...

Ooh.... definitely didn't see that when I went through the EULA when my keys were generated.
Either way... those keys expire in 24 months time... but I did grab them to a text file for in case.
 
Cool programme! Reminds me of the MSDN license we used to get when I was still working as a Sys admin at the Varsity. Those days you received a monthly pack of CDs and DVDs from MS. Internet was too slow to download... LOL.
 
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