Nothing on Technet yet :)

[jimbo45]

Hi there
it's really quite clear if you actually READ what they are doing

Here's a spread sheet of the changed and "retired" products -- You'll see that for your case of W7 Ultimate it's been replaced by Windows Enterprise.

Look I'm not even English and I can understand this stuff so what's the problem --makes perfect sense to me --why should you search through 9,001 different versions of Windows 7 when one will do -- and as TechNet is for I.T Pros Ms's logic of removing things like W7 Home premium makes 100 % sense. Remember also W7 Enterprise is MULTIPLE activation -- at least 100 times BTW.

Enc screenshot of the spread sheet - It's in basic English so should be 100% understandable.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[FSeal]

You are going off the beam there Jimbo.

Windows 7 Ultimate is not retired, yet it was removed from Technet use. As were several OTHER non-retired pieces of software as well as SOME retired pieces and some duplicates. I never said I didn;t understand their explanations. I simply do not agree with them.

The fact is, in the end, they have restricted access. It doesn't even MATTER that items are retired as far as microsoft is concerned. OTHER PEOPLE are still using them and it MAY be quite important to be able to use the old software for testing, ne? Just because Microsoft says it's not supporting X anymore doesn't mean that WE might not have to for some time to come...

It was NICE of them to supply materials on their entire line up since they can't possibly know or dictate what people might have in use. Now, it's less useful.

 

[pparks1]

They are simply removing stuff that shouldn't really have been on Technet in the first place -- such as W7 Home Premium.

I don't agree with this at all. Let's say I work an IT job and an employee who uses Windows 7 Home Premium at home is having a problem with our VPN client. I would use a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium from my account to ensure that there isn't something actually wrong causing this problem.

 

[pparks1]

According to this page;
TechNet Subscriptions and Licensing

What changes did Microsoft implement to TechNet Subscriptions in July 2012?On July 16, Microsoft made changes to TechNet Subscriptions to better reflect the intent of the program – aiding IT professionals in evaluating current Microsoft software—and to help protect the integrity of the subscription from unsupported use. As part of this change, we:

• Reduced the length and complexity of the User Agreement.
• Made Microsoft software use and other subscription benefits available only during the 12 month subscription period.
• Updated the list of products available for evaluation by:
  • Removing redundant or multiple instances of products. For instance: The full Office suite will be available for download, but not standalone Office products such as Outlook, Publisher, etc.
  • Removing products that are not intended for use in an IT professional managed business environment. For instance: Windows XP Home Edition.
  • Removing products that are no longer covered by extended support through the Microsoft Support Lifecycle.
• Standardized the 24hr product key claim limit across all programs and benefit levels at ten (10).

To review the terms of use, please refer to the Microsoft TechNet Subscription agreement that applies based on your acceptance date:

• Prior to July 16 2012: TechNet Subscriber Agreement - Prior to July 16, 2012
• On/After July 16 2012: Current TechNet Subscriber Agreement

Please provide feedback and share other comments via TechNet Site Feedback. If you require assistance with software evaluations as a result of these changes, please contact customer service.

So, some pretty extensive changes. I think in all honesty though, it's good. This program was abused and was never intended to be a software pack for home hobbyists to get truckloads of software for a very low price per product...but that's what people were essentially doing with it.

I honestly didn't know of these changes as I have an MSDN Visual Studio Premium account and not a technet account. It's only $5,469 for the first year. Buy an MSDN Subscription