3 ms·

But it's not free if it's only 3 years - you still have to pay don't you? I'm not arguing the utility of it - I'm wondering if you would have paid anyway - or i

But it's not free if it's only 3 years - you still have to pay don't you? I'm not arguing the utility of it - I'm wondering if you would have paid anyway - or if the 3 year "loan" made a difference.

kenjackson 16y ago
It's not a loan. It's free. At the end of the three years you can keep the software, continue using it, and never pay a dime to Microsoft (actually $100). You can in theory, build Google on it, make $50B over 20 years, and never pay MS a dime, all while using MS software. With that said, if you do want to upgrade to new versions of the software after 3 years, then you'll have to pay for upgrades. But that's like saying that someone giving you a new car for free isn't really free, if they don't give you a new car every year. Or if ATT and Apple give you an iPhone and service free for 3 years, its not really free unless they give you a new iPhone every 3 years (and free ATT service).
- robconery 16y ago
  I think you might need to go back and read the terms again :). You're given 3 years (for a $100 fee) of what amounts to an MSDN license (which is pretty restrictive) and then you need to pay. If you want to keep the MSDN-type thing (re-upping) you can - but if you've grown, you can't. Which means you have to pop for licenses for VS, Exhange, Sharepoint, Office, SQL, Windows Server, etc. SQL and Windows Server is the big one... especially if you've built Google.
- robconery 16y ago
  Have a read here (I think this is what you're referring to): http://www.bizspark.com/Programs/Pages/GraduationOffer.aspx http://www.bizspark.com/Programs/Pages/GraduationOffer.aspx Note that if you keep your MSDN license, it doesn't entitle you to use much in production. You can't, for instance, run SQL Server in production using an MSDN license. Nor can you use Exchange and Windows Server. So it's not free :).
  - kenjackson 16y ago
    To quote: "Startups may keep and continue to use, for development and testing purposes, all the software they received as part of their BizSpark MSDN Subscription. In other words, they have perpetual development and test rights to that software." "The BizSpark Graduation Offer allows BizSpark startups to keep, at no charge, all the software they acquired through the BizSpark program" "Under the graduation offer, the MSDN Ultimate licenses that came with BizSpark are perpetual, so startups keep all the tools and platform software they got from the program for development and testing purposes, including Visual Studio and Expression" "Similarly, startups will also have perpetual rights to all of their Windows and SQL Server production licenses" Now your claim may be that BizSpark doesn't supply enough licenses for you, but it is FREE. After BizSpark is done, you never have to pay MS a cent to keep and use the SW acquired in BizSpark. In fact, I didn't realize they'd waived the $100 fee. Like I said, if you want to upgrade or get additional licenses, you have to pay for those. You can build your $50B empire all on BizSpark, although you'll just have to write a very efficient backend to handle the transactions with only a couple of SQL instances, but there is nothing stopping you, but your ingenuity :-)
    - johns 16y ago
      From that same page: The BizSpark Graduation Offer assumes a standard production configuration of 4 Windows Server Standard Edition and 2 SQL Server Standard Edition (Proc) which we believe will meet the needs of most startups. For startups who have different or greater needs, the BizSpark team will work with them to build a customized configuration at graduation.
      - kogir 16y ago
        I can't reveal details but the graduation offer Loopt has received (a customized configuration) is fantastic. We'll be much better off at the end than when we started, and don't regret it for a second. It's absolutely not a bait and switch.
        robconery 16y ago

But it's not free if it's only 3 years - you still have to pay don't you? I'm not arguing the utility of it - I'm wondering if you would have paid anyway - or if the 3 year "loan" made a difference.

kenjackson 16y ago

It's not a loan. It's free. At the end of the three years you can keep the software, continue using it, and never pay a dime to Microsoft (actually $100). You can in theory, build Google on it, make $50B over 20 years, and never pay MS a dime, all while using MS software. With that said, if you do want to upgrade to new versions of the software after 3 years, then you'll have to pay for upgrades. But that's like saying that someone giving you a new car for free isn't really free, if they don't give you a new car every year. Or if ATT and Apple give you an iPhone and service free for 3 years, its not really free unless they give you a new iPhone every 3 years (and free ATT service).

robconery 16y ago
I think you might need to go back and read the terms again :). You're given 3 years (for a $100 fee) of what amounts to an MSDN license (which is pretty restrictive) and then you need to pay. If you want to keep the MSDN-type thing (re-upping) you can - but if you've grown, you can't. Which means you have to pop for licenses for VS, Exhange, Sharepoint, Office, SQL, Windows Server, etc. SQL and Windows Server is the big one... especially if you've built Google.
robconery 16y ago
Have a read here (I think this is what you're referring to): http://www.bizspark.com/Programs/Pages/GraduationOffer.aspx http://www.bizspark.com/Programs/Pages/GraduationOffer.aspx Note that if you keep your MSDN license, it doesn't entitle you to use much in production. You can't, for instance, run SQL Server in production using an MSDN license. Nor can you use Exchange and Windows Server. So it's not free :).
- kenjackson 16y ago
  To quote: "Startups may keep and continue to use, for development and testing purposes, all the software they received as part of their BizSpark MSDN Subscription. In other words, they have perpetual development and test rights to that software." "The BizSpark Graduation Offer allows BizSpark startups to keep, at no charge, all the software they acquired through the BizSpark program" "Under the graduation offer, the MSDN Ultimate licenses that came with BizSpark are perpetual, so startups keep all the tools and platform software they got from the program for development and testing purposes, including Visual Studio and Expression" "Similarly, startups will also have perpetual rights to all of their Windows and SQL Server production licenses" Now your claim may be that BizSpark doesn't supply enough licenses for you, but it is FREE. After BizSpark is done, you never have to pay MS a cent to keep and use the SW acquired in BizSpark. In fact, I didn't realize they'd waived the $100 fee. Like I said, if you want to upgrade or get additional licenses, you have to pay for those. You can build your $50B empire all on BizSpark, although you'll just have to write a very efficient backend to handle the transactions with only a couple of SQL instances, but there is nothing stopping you, but your ingenuity :-)
  - johns 16y ago
    From that same page: The BizSpark Graduation Offer assumes a standard production configuration of 4 Windows Server Standard Edition and 2 SQL Server Standard Edition (Proc) which we believe will meet the needs of most startups. For startups who have different or greater needs, the BizSpark team will work with them to build a customized configuration at graduation.
    - kogir 16y ago
      I can't reveal details but the graduation offer Loopt has received (a customized configuration) is fantastic. We'll be much better off at the end than when we started, and don't regret it for a second. It's absolutely not a bait and switch.
      - robconery 16y ago