Talk:DreamSpark Premium

message: are there any restrictions to using this software?
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Yes there are, for example the software cannot be used for commercial purposes but students may keep installed software after finishing their education program.
CS classes = Computer Science classes?
~K
this is the best part of being in uni, i got windows xp x64 for sod all, hehe, also visual studio pro 2005, access 2003, the list goes on, this is great
*Does the non-commercial usage restriction extend to Windows XP in this hypothetical situation: a student designs and builds a commercial website using non-Microsoft tools but in the XP operating system obtained through MSDNAA. Mikesc86 23:54, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  Write email to  msdnaamicrosoft.com with your question. --TAG 05:38, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

message: After looking at the EULA terms (using the link in the article), while it is true that students can keep the software even after they are no longer eligible under the terms of the license, the software's use is still bound by the terms laid out.  As far as what the students are allowed to install on their own personal computers...
(a) to develop, support, conduct, or take the STEM (ed:  science, technology, engineering and math) courses, labs, or programs you offer; (b) in non-commercial STEM research on your behalf; or (c) to design, develop, test, and demonstrate software programs for the above purposes.
I don't see anything that would allow, for example, the student to install and play World of WarCraft on an operating system obtained with this license.  Even if the student were to install an office suite on it, the only legitimate use would be to create files related to their coursework in these "STEM" classes;  even writing a paper for a humanities course on such a system seems to be outside the grant of the license.  This seems to preclude the software's use even for self-study outside the realm of the courses the student is enrolled in at that point in time.
Additionally, the uses are married to "programs you offer" or "on your behalf," where the "you" in question is the academic institution.  While the license does grant the students the right to keep the software after they are no longer eligible for the program (graduation, withdrawal, etc.), it seems that any legitimate use of it can only be when the student in question has an ongoing relationship with the school.
I realize that this all borders on original research, but the terms of the license itself seem to at least support the changes I made to the article.  As a personal observation, at least as far as the operating systems are concerned, it seems students could accomplish more and have more freedom of use with the free 120-day trials that Microsoft hands out than they could with software obtained through the MSDNAA program (such as install more than one copy).  Guppy313 (talk) 04:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Most of the points made here are irrelevant as it would be impossible for Microsoft to enforce these license terms.  As far as I know, it would be illegal for them to probe your machine in order to catch you doing a humanities paper on a copy of windows licensed for STEM Lovefist233 (talk) 22:58, 1 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Few legitimate uses 

message: "Despite its name, an MSDNAA account is not a true MSDN Subscription-account and cannot be used to access the subscriber's section of the MSDN website or its downloads."
What about the MSDN library downloads?
~ 67.171.33.138 (talk) 04:26, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  MSDN 

message: On the MSDN Academic Alliance --Student Use Guidelines, it states:
:"When you are no longer a registered student in a department that is a member of the MSDN Academic Alliance, you may no longer receive updates for your personal use computer. However, you may continue to use previously installed software on your computer, provided you continue to follow program guidelines. "
Does this not directly disprove the line from the article that starts "Even after graduation students may receive all free updates to the software, such as security updates and service packs"? -NeF (talk) 19:13, 27 May 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  After graduation 

message: The available software section may need to be updated. I've noticed that Windows XP, Vista, and 2003 have recently been removed from the IEEE Dreamspark Premium site, and it's quite possible the changes extend beyond just these products being removed. A quick look at a few other Dreamspark Premium sites (various universities, etc.) seems to confirm they've been removed elsewhere as well. Cyclonius (talk) 13:56, 14 February 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Available Software