6 ms·

> TIL about the free Windows VMs too. Not quite free, just an evaluation version that expires after a while.

exikyut 9y ago
Ah. I'd middle-clicked that link but not actually looked at it before hitting Submit. :) That page says the images expire 12/1/17. So that's... two months from now? Huh. That's... 341.33MB per day in bandwidth (20GB over 60 days). Weird way to measure it (the cost of continually reconfiguring would theoretically be higher), but I had a really tiny Internet cap for a few years some time ago.
- moron4hire 9y ago
  Windows licenses aren't that expensive. If you need a copy of Windows more often than the trial image makes feasible, you should probably buy a copy.
  - exikyut 9y ago
    Fair point. Glances at nonexistant bank account - and computer from 2006 :P
  - simias 9y ago
    A Windows 10 Home edition costs 145 euros, pro is 260 euros, it's not exactly impulse purchase territory for me. I never use Windows because I want to, I use it because I have to. So paying hundreds of euros to have the privilege to use an OS I don't care for just because some developer decided not to make their application portable is very hard for me to swallow. Especially now with the built-in ads, telemetry, OneDrive and whatnot. You're not going to guilt me into purchasing a copy of that garbage fire of an OS just so that I can boot up the odd windows-only application every other month.
    - pjmlp 9y ago
      The cheapest version of macOS for anyone that needs to use it, costs 570 € in Germany (Mac mini) for the very first version, excluding the free upgrades. Any other commercial OS at enterprise level is way beyond that in developer licenses.
      - rbanffy 9y ago
        And it comes with a very elegant and compact computer totally for free.
        jkoll 9y ago
        Still not worth it.
        rbanffy 9y ago
        That's debatable. I kind of like mine. Not as fast as its big brother, but that was never the intention. And the OS is a beautiful successor for NeXTSTEP.
      - simias 9y ago
        That's not a very fair comparison. And while I'm sure MacOS isn't exactly cheap I never encountered a situation where I had to use some piece of software that required me to run MacOS. For what it's worth I was mainly thinking of the Linux/BSDs that I actually want to use when given the choice It's free forever, easily customizable to fit my various needs, from embedded barebones application to media server to workstation. I actually own and control the OS (my debian doesn't upgrade to a new version behind my back) and I can even dig into the code if I want to. I'd sooner give 100 euros to the FreeBSD fountation than 10 euros to MS frankly. I gave them enough money indirectly already with all these prebuilt computers I've bought in the past decades which came with Windows preinstalled, only for me to immediately wipe them with something else.
        moron4hire 9y ago
        That's just your particular case and not indicative of the situation as a whole. I regularly encounter software that requires me to run macOS. I build virtual and augmented reality software. macOS is garbage for VR, all the major VR systems work better on Windows. But, if you want to build AR apps for iPhones (or any sort of game app, doesn't have to be AR), you need Xcode, and Xcode only runs on macOS.
    - leonroy 9y ago
      OEM variants without the media and box are £25 on Amazon. Worked fine for us. Came as a license key from a VAT registered reseller and activated just fine.
      - gruez 9y ago
        be careful, those discounted keys are likely coming from bizspark/msdn accounts. they will work fine, but if you're a business and get audited you will fail the audit. in that sense you might as well use a KMS activator.
    - YouAreGreat 9y ago
      Depending on jurisdiction you may be able to buy a "used" license. In that case, you're looking at maybe 20-30 Euros for Windows 7 Pro.
    - moron4hire 9y ago
      The trial images are not for you to use other people's software, they are for you to test your own software, especially for testing website compatibility with Internet Explorer. If your job requires testing more often than the trial image makes convenient, you should make your client pay for the Windows license. And if you're just using the OS, I really think you have a responsibility to pay for it. And all that other stuff can be turned off.
    - alex_hitchins 9y ago
      If you don't need the support and don't need a physical boxed product, you can likely bring this cost down to about £40. Look for OEM.
- rzzzt 9y ago
  The VMs for IE/Edge testing purposes seem to be periodically updated, once the current images stop working. I also remember seeing instructions on how to extend the trial period somewhere within the VM, similar to what dexterdog describes in the sibling comment. https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/v...
- pixdamix 9y ago
  If done right, the cost can be close to zero. See : - https://github.com/GoSecure/malboxes https://github.com/GoSecure/malboxes - https://github.com/joefitzgerald/packer-windows https://github.com/joefitzgerald/packer-windows - https://www.packer.io/intro/why.html https://www.packer.io/intro/why.html
dexterdog 9y ago
You can usually extend the evaluations a few times. The Win2k16 server trial is 180 days and can be extended 6 times with a simple script call. If you cron it right you get 3 years.
- exikyut 9y ago
  Oooooh. That's very nice! And legal too. Awesome to know, thanks very much.

Ah. I'd middle-clicked that link but not actually looked at it before hitting Submit. :) That page says the images expire 12/1/17. So that's... two months from now? Huh. That's... 341.33MB per day in bandwidth (20GB over 60 days). Weird way to measure it (the cost of continually reconfiguring would theoretically be higher), but I had a really tiny Internet cap for a few years some time ago.

moron4hire 9y ago
Windows licenses aren't that expensive. If you need a copy of Windows more often than the trial image makes feasible, you should probably buy a copy.
- exikyut 9y ago
  Fair point. Glances at nonexistant bank account - and computer from 2006 :P
- simias 9y ago
  A Windows 10 Home edition costs 145 euros, pro is 260 euros, it's not exactly impulse purchase territory for me. I never use Windows because I want to, I use it because I have to. So paying hundreds of euros to have the privilege to use an OS I don't care for just because some developer decided not to make their application portable is very hard for me to swallow. Especially now with the built-in ads, telemetry, OneDrive and whatnot. You're not going to guilt me into purchasing a copy of that garbage fire of an OS just so that I can boot up the odd windows-only application every other month.
  - pjmlp 9y ago
    The cheapest version of macOS for anyone that needs to use it, costs 570 € in Germany (Mac mini) for the very first version, excluding the free upgrades. Any other commercial OS at enterprise level is way beyond that in developer licenses.
    - rbanffy 9y ago
      And it comes with a very elegant and compact computer totally for free.
      - jkoll 9y ago
        Still not worth it.
        rbanffy 9y ago
        That's debatable. I kind of like mine. Not as fast as its big brother, but that was never the intention. And the OS is a beautiful successor for NeXTSTEP.
    - simias 9y ago
      That's not a very fair comparison. And while I'm sure MacOS isn't exactly cheap I never encountered a situation where I had to use some piece of software that required me to run MacOS. For what it's worth I was mainly thinking of the Linux/BSDs that I actually want to use when given the choice It's free forever, easily customizable to fit my various needs, from embedded barebones application to media server to workstation. I actually own and control the OS (my debian doesn't upgrade to a new version behind my back) and I can even dig into the code if I want to. I'd sooner give 100 euros to the FreeBSD fountation than 10 euros to MS frankly. I gave them enough money indirectly already with all these prebuilt computers I've bought in the past decades which came with Windows preinstalled, only for me to immediately wipe them with something else.
      - moron4hire 9y ago
        That's just your particular case and not indicative of the situation as a whole. I regularly encounter software that requires me to run macOS. I build virtual and augmented reality software. macOS is garbage for VR, all the major VR systems work better on Windows. But, if you want to build AR apps for iPhones (or any sort of game app, doesn't have to be AR), you need Xcode, and Xcode only runs on macOS.
  - leonroy 9y ago
    OEM variants without the media and box are £25 on Amazon. Worked fine for us. Came as a license key from a VAT registered reseller and activated just fine.
    - gruez 9y ago
      be careful, those discounted keys are likely coming from bizspark/msdn accounts. they will work fine, but if you're a business and get audited you will fail the audit. in that sense you might as well use a KMS activator.
  - YouAreGreat 9y ago
    Depending on jurisdiction you may be able to buy a "used" license. In that case, you're looking at maybe 20-30 Euros for Windows 7 Pro.
  - moron4hire 9y ago
    The trial images are not for you to use other people's software, they are for you to test your own software, especially for testing website compatibility with Internet Explorer. If your job requires testing more often than the trial image makes convenient, you should make your client pay for the Windows license. And if you're just using the OS, I really think you have a responsibility to pay for it. And all that other stuff can be turned off.
  - alex_hitchins 9y ago
    If you don't need the support and don't need a physical boxed product, you can likely bring this cost down to about £40. Look for OEM.
rzzzt 9y ago
The VMs for IE/Edge testing purposes seem to be periodically updated, once the current images stop working. I also remember seeing instructions on how to extend the trial period somewhere within the VM, similar to what dexterdog describes in the sibling comment. https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/v...
pixdamix 9y ago
If done right, the cost can be close to zero. See : - https://github.com/GoSecure/malboxes https://github.com/GoSecure/malboxes - https://github.com/joefitzgerald/packer-windows https://github.com/joefitzgerald/packer-windows - https://www.packer.io/intro/why.html https://www.packer.io/intro/why.html

dexterdog 9y ago

You can usually extend the evaluations a few times. The Win2k16 server trial is 180 days and can be extended 6 times with a simple script call. If you cron it right you get 3 years.

exikyut 9y ago
Oooooh. That's very nice! And legal too. Awesome to know, thanks very much.