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If I would have to pay $100-$200 for the software subscriptions for my Windows VM (windows license, office) it gets close? Especially if Microsoft is also throw

If I would have to pay $100-$200 for the software subscriptions for my Windows VM (windows license, office) it gets close? Especially if Microsoft is also throwing in some hardware so my local computer is taxed less? Of course streaming a cloud desktop introduces its own problems (latency, unreliability, etc) but also advantages (portability, reproducibility, etc)

CountDrewku 5y ago
You don't really need to pay to license windows if you're just using it for testing.
- notthedroids 5y ago
  Because Microsoft permits testing without a license? Or because you believe, in practice, Microsoft will not assert its intellectual property rights against someone who is only testing? (I am personally OK with the first, not the second.)
  - CountDrewku 5y ago
    Functionally you can use it indefinitely without licensing and only have cosmetic issues in the form of a watermark and some inability to change appearance. Whether this breaks their tos is a bit gray....
  - Macha 5y ago
    > Because Microsoft permits testing without a license Yes https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virt... https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/v...
- greggyb 5y ago
  Not sure on Windows licensing, but their major enterprise software such as SQL Server and SharePoint are free for dev use cases. When installing you have to provide a license. You can select a "Dev license" option, which gives you access to all the Enterprise Edition (or whatever name they're calling the full-featured edition) features for free for dev.
Saris 5y ago
MS does offer W10 VM images that are good for 60 days (or 90, can't remember), to be used for development and testing.
Macha 5y ago
Unless you're writing Office plugins, why do you need an office license for your test VM?

CountDrewku 5y ago

You don't really need to pay to license windows if you're just using it for testing.

notthedroids 5y ago
Because Microsoft permits testing without a license? Or because you believe, in practice, Microsoft will not assert its intellectual property rights against someone who is only testing? (I am personally OK with the first, not the second.)
- CountDrewku 5y ago
  Functionally you can use it indefinitely without licensing and only have cosmetic issues in the form of a watermark and some inability to change appearance. Whether this breaks their tos is a bit gray....
- Macha 5y ago
  > Because Microsoft permits testing without a license Yes https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virt... https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms/ https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/v...
greggyb 5y ago
Not sure on Windows licensing, but their major enterprise software such as SQL Server and SharePoint are free for dev use cases. When installing you have to provide a license. You can select a "Dev license" option, which gives you access to all the Enterprise Edition (or whatever name they're calling the full-featured edition) features for free for dev.

Saris 5y ago

MS does offer W10 VM images that are good for 60 days (or 90, can't remember), to be used for development and testing.

Macha 5y ago

Unless you're writing Office plugins, why do you need an office license for your test VM?